Historically, Americans have been very sympathetic to Israel in the Middle East, and have given Israel high favorable ratings.
Gallup's basic "sympathies" question is worded as follows: "In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?" The most recent measure on this question, from the Feb. 6-9 poll, finds that 59% of Americans sympathize more with Israel, while 15% side more with the Palestinians, and the remaining 26% do not take either side or do not have an opinion.
The latest figures represent one of the most lopsided margins in favor of the Israelis ever recorded by Gallup. The only other times sympathy has been this high were during the first Persian Gulf War in February 1991, (when Iraq was launching Scud missiles into Israeli territory) and shortly before the start of the second war with Iraq, in February 2003, (58%). In 2004 and 2005, sympathy toward the Palestinians, though still low, was as high as it has been historically (18%).