Public sympathy for Palestinians is increasing. Twenty-six per cent of people in the UK say they’re on their side, while only 14 per cent back Israel. As many as 27 per cent said they would back neither, and 18 per cent support both sides equally. Sympathy for Palestine is up eight points since the beginning of the most recent war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023. Apathy has also increased, from 24 per cent to 27 per cent over the same period.
Many prefer to ignore the conflict. “I’d never leave the house if I watched the news,” said Abby, from Stockport, when asked about her view in a focus group. “Sometimes you need to turn off the news because it’s so harrowing,” said James from St Albans.
Both sides are suspicious of the other’s motivations. Most supporters of Palestine think the majority of the UK is on their side, and 40 per cent of them think those who support Israel do so because they hate Muslims or Arabs. Those most sympathetic to Israel think the country is split, and a majority of them believe Palestinians supporters are anti-Semitic.
The reality is more complicated. Most Britons are apathetic and alienated and prefer not to take a side – in part because of the toxic debate on social media, which 41 per cent say is “crowding out the voices of people with more moderate views”. While seven in ten people feel comfortable talking about the war with friends, fewer than a quarter feel the same posting about it on the internet. Just 8 per cent think “people with more balanced vices are heard the same as people with more extreme views”.
Kirsty, a self-described leftist, said we’ve “lost the art of the debate”. “People have polarised views,” she added. “It’s really difficult to talk about something in an intelligent [way].” Tina, from Braintree in Essex, felt similarly: “People, they have an opinion on everything, and if you don’t conform with what they believe in, they become a hater and it’s just really frightening.”
The median Briton looks, by a small margin, negatively on people who post in support of Palestine, but doubly so when it’s about Israel.
This uncertainty online has extended offline. Only 45 per cent of people feel Britain is safe for Jewish people, down five points since the beginning of 2024. Fifty-three per cent think it is safe for Muslims, down seven points in the same period.
There are legitimate reasons why people might feel under threat. More than a quarter of people in their sixties and seventies feel negatively towards Muslims, and more than one in ten millennials feels negatively towards Jews.
Most people think free speech is protected in Britain. Just a third of us think the ability to protest in support of Palestine is under threat, a figure that increases to 46 per cent for those most sympathetic to Palestine.
The numbers are similar when it comes to the freedom to protest the Labour government, which 29 per cent think is restricted. Among those with a very negative view of the government, 41 per cent think there are limits to the ability to protest.
In general, people tend to feel their side is under threat, while other sides are not. This is the consequence of a nation of people not talking to each other – made worse by social media feeds that tend to overlook moderate views in favour of the extreme.
[Further reading: Islam is part of European history]
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