Americans are deeply conflicted over whether the United Nations should give birth to a new Arab country in the heart of Israel’s geographic borders, and call it “Palestine.”
The Gallup polling organization surveyed the U.S. population this month to determine how America feels about this issue. Pollsters conducted telephone interviews Feb. 8-11, 2015 with a random sample of 837 adults ages 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
(The margin of sampling error was plus-minus four percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.)
The organization uncovered a conflict that splits the country almost right down the middle.
A majority of Americans still does not support the idea, however, even though they elected to vote passively: only 42 percent of those polled favored the establishment of an independent Palestinian state comprised of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, a drop from the 46 percent of one year ago, and a full 20 percent would not express an opinion at all.
Just 38 percent were opposed to the idea, however. The numbers grow higher the older the sample.
Older Americans aged 55 and up were opposed (43 percent) to the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Those younger (41 percent) were in favor – and 16 percent had no opinion.
Those with higher levels of education were more likely to favor PA statehood; however, 48 percent of Republicans opposed it, and just 33 percent of GOP members supported it. In the Democratic Party the majority supported PA statehood.
That last point in particular may have some bearing when it comes to U.S. national elections in 2016, and the run for the White House.
