Alarming Poll Reveals US College Students Increasingly Favor Palestinians Over Israel

Beyond attitudes toward Israel, the poll found that 22% of American college students agreed with the statement that “America deserved September 11th.”

By United with Israel Staff

Support for Israel among American college students has declined sharply over the past year, with a new nationwide survey finding that students increasingly favor the Palestinians over the Jewish state.

According to the Buckley Institute’s 2026 National Undergraduate Student Survey, 38% of students considered Palestine a better ally for the United States, compared with just 25% who selected Israel. Another 37% were undecided.

The findings represent a nine-percentage-point shift toward the Palestinians compared with 2025, when 33% favored Palestine and 29% chose Israel.

The survey also found that 47% of American undergraduates held an unfavorable view of Israel, while only 27% expressed a favorable opinion.

By contrast, Palestine received favorable ratings from 50% of respondents and unfavorable ratings from just 21%.

The divide was particularly pronounced among politically liberal students, 55% of whom selected Palestine as the better American ally. Conservative students favored Israel by 50% to 17%.

Among liberal students, 64% expressed favorable views of Palestine, exceeding the 59% who viewed the United States favorably.

Israel’s overall net favorability rating of negative 20 percentage points was nearly identical to Iran’s negative 21 points. Among liberal respondents, Israel was viewed less favorably than Iran, China, Cuba and Venezuela.

The survey also revealed a significant gender divide. Female students preferred Palestine over Israel by 42% to 20%, while male respondents were almost evenly split, with 32% selecting Palestine and 31% choosing Israel.

Beyond attitudes toward Israel, the poll found that 22% of American college students agreed with the statement that “America deserved September 11th,” referring to the 2001 al-Qaeda terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. Among politically liberal students, that figure rose to 28%.

The survey also identified differences in attitudes toward political violence and free speech. Among students who preferred Palestine as America’s ally, 58% agreed that physical violence could be justified to prevent hate speech, compared with 41% of those who favored Israel.

Similarly, just 55% of students who selected Palestine said they were proud to be American, compared with 89% of those who favored Israel.

The Buckley Institute’s founder and executive director, Lauren Noble, expressed concern about the broader findings.

“This year’s survey demonstrates that censorious attitudes remain stubbornly high on America’s college campuses,” Noble said.

The survey was conducted by Inquire LLC between September 5 and September 14, 2026, among 803 full-time undergraduate students under the age of 25 attending four-year colleges and universities across the United States.