Report says shifting US public opinion is pressuring Israel as Gaza images spread

A report by Mehr News says support for Israel in the United States is no longer a cost-free position for politicians, as images and accounts from Gaza reach American audiences directly through social networks. The report cites the killing of civilians, destruction of vital infrastructure, and the situation of Palestinians under bombardment as factors that have gradually changed the image of Israel in parts of American society.

The report points to remarks by US Senator Bernie Sanders, who said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) intends to spend 233 million dollars to defeat candidates who oppose the Netanyahu government. Sanders also said such groups spent about 33 million dollars to defeat Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan primary elections but did not succeed. Election reports cited in the article indicate that AIPAC-affiliated groups spent tens of millions of dollars in the Michigan race in support of El-Sayed's rival. El-Sayed rejected unconditional US military support for Israel and criticized the Netanyahu cabinet's policies in Gaza and the West Bank, and he won the primary.

The report says the significance is not limited to the spending figure or the Michigan race, but lies in why opposition to Israeli policies now carries such costs. It argues that for decades Israel presented itself in Western public opinion as a democratic regime and a victim of security threats, and that after widespread attacks on Gaza the gap between that image and events on the ground became clearer to millions of Americans. It cites images of killed children, families trapped under rubble, hospitals facing shortages, and destroyed infrastructure, saying these reach US audiences directly rather than only through Arab or regional media.

On public opinion data, the report cites a Gallup poll in February 2026 in which, for the first time in decades, Americans' sympathy with Palestinians exceeded sympathy with Israelis, 41 percent to 36 percent, with the change more prominent among young people and Democrats. It says the figures do not mean American society is uniformly against Israel, but that Israel's monopoly on the narrative is being broken, and that criticizing Israel, once costly in many political circles, is now something parts of American society want to see increased.

The report also notes a recent US Senate effort to compel the American government to present a report about human rights violations in the West Bank. The plan was stopped by a vote of 47 to 51, but the report says the fact that such an action was raised shows the behavior of Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied territories has become a serious issue in US internal disputes. It adds that the question of whether Washington should support an ally accused of widespread violations of civilians' rights without restriction has penetrated inside the Democratic Party, with election reports showing a wider gap over Israel policy among Democrats and more politicians wanting a review of military support for the Netanyahu cabinet.

The report says the change does not mean the collapse of American support for Israel, as political, security, and economic structures of the relationship remain powerful, but that the relationship can no longer continue on the basis of unquestioning public opinion support. It describes the Palestine issue and Israel's actions in Gaza as increasingly an electoral, social, and generational issue in America, with younger Americans holding a different narrative from previous generations. According to Mehr News, the more important development is not that a pro-Israel group spends millions in elections, but why candidates opposing Netanyahu's policies still gain considerable voter support despite such spending.