A recent survey shows that a growing number of Americans do not trust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's management of global affairs.
A new report, According to a study by Pew Research Center released on Thursday, 53% of American adults expressed little or no faith in Netanyahu's ability to make good decisions about global matters, including 25% who have no confidence in him at all.
The percentage of Americans who lack confidence in the Israeli prime minister has risen by 11 points since last year, when 42% held this view.
In the latest survey, only 9% of U.S. adults said they have a high level of confidence in his handling of global affairs, while 21% said they have some confidence. These numbers represent slight decreases from last year's figures of 8% and 24% respectively.
Pew noted a decrease in confidence that may be attributed to a shift in awareness of Netanyahu, as fewer Americans reported not knowing about him this year compared to 2023.
The findings come as Netanyahu faces increased scrutiny over Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which according to local health authorities has resulted in the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians since early October.
He has defended Israel's actions and pledged to continue efforts to counter the threat posed by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007. advance in his endeavor to eradicate the threat emanating from Palestinian militant Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza since 2007.
The conflict has persisted for nearly seven months following a surprise attack by Hamas on southern Israel last October, during which around 1,200 individuals were killed and approximately 250 others were captured. Cease-fire negotiations remain at a standstill despite mounting pressure from leaders worldwide.
Pew also observed differing views on Netanyahu based on political affiliation, noting that Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have a much more favorable opinion of the Israeli leader compared to Democrats and their counterparts – 51% to 13%.
The poll showed that about 38% of Democrats and Democratic leaners have no confidence in Netanyahu at all, while only 13% of Republicans expressed the same sentiment.
Opinions also differ among age groups, with older Americans more likely to have positive opinions of Netanyahu than younger individuals.
Roughly 42% of Americans aged 50 and above have at least some confidence in him to make the right decisions in global affairs, while around a quarter of those aged 30 to 49 shared this perspective. Only 13% of adults under 30 have at least some trust, according to the survey.
The Pew Research Center poll, conducted among 3,600 U.S. adults from April 1-7, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
