Plurality of Republicans say end US aid to Israel: poll

A plurality of Republicans oppose extending an agreement that would give $38 billion in U.S.-funded weapons to Israel over the next decade, according to a new poll from YouGov and the IMEU Policy Project.

While 35% of Republicans would renew the arrangement, 42% say they would rather see it lapse. Support for ripping up the deal is particularly high among Republicans between 18 and 44, with 53% of these respondents calling for an end to the aid packages.

The poll comes at a consequential moment. The Trump administration is deciding whether to extend America’s latest memorandum of understanding on military aid to Israel, which is due to expire in 2028. The results indicate that a clean extension of the deal could draw significant blowback on the right, particularly among younger Republicans.

YouGov and IMEU fielded the poll, which included a sample of 1,287 Republican voters, in mid-November.

Reports indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the next memorandum of understanding to last for 20 years rather than the typical 10. But the poll shows that this idea would be even less popular among Republicans, including older GOP members, with 40% of respondents over 45 saying that they would oppose such a deal.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the GOP base is suddenly turning against Israel on the whole. An increasing number of pro-Israel Republicans believe that continued U.S. aid is more trouble than it’s worth, in part because it gives powerful ammunition to Israel’s skeptics in Washington, who often rail against the use of American-funded weapons in alleged Israeli abuses.

The poll suggests that Republican voters are primarily concerned about who is paying for the weapons. Fifty-one percent of Republicans said they support selling arms to Israel, but that number drops to 38% when American taxpayers are footing the bill.

Support for providing weapons to Israel also correlated strongly with Fox News viewership. Among Fox viewers, 53% support sending more taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel. Among non-Fox viewers, only 23% favor sending additional taxpayer-funded aid, while 41% oppose it.

Despite the growing divisions on the right over Israel, Republicans broadly agreed on one thing: The U.S. should conduct independent investigations into the killings of American civilians by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers. Fifty-nine percent of respondents supported such an inquiry, which only 15% of respondents opposed, with minimal variation across age groups.