National Poll: Supermajority of Democrats Support Same Sanctions Against Israel That Brought Down Apartheid in South Africa
A poll released Friday, October 3, by IMEU Policy Project and Gen-Z for Change, and conducted by YouGov, found for the first time that Democratic voters strongly support sanctions on the Israeli government. The survey of over 1,200 likely Democratic primary voters found these voters strongly support imposing sanctions on the Israeli government (65%), believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza (72%), and oppose renewing the memorandum of understanding agreement to provide annual weapons funding to Israel (75%).
When asked about specific potential sanctions:
76% support a ban on extending credit to Israel through the purchase of Israel bonds
75% support restricting imports of Israeli-made weapons and cybersecurity software
62% support prohibiting entry into the US for Israeli government officials and soldiers
Similar policies were included in the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 enacted against apartheid South Africa.
The poll finds the age gap on questions about Israeli policy and support for Palestinian rights previously seen in polling of Democrats has rapidly closed, and policies such as sanctions and cutting off weapons are supported by a majority of Democrats across all age, gender, race, and geographic region brackets. Gen Z Democrats (age 18-29) are still most likely to say US foreign policy toward Israel will be a factor in their 2026 Democratic primary vote (52%). In a separate version of the item where respondents were limited to selecting their top three most important issues, 27% of Gen Z Democrats say it will be a top-three factor, and among those voters, 90% say they want to reduce US support for Israel.
In July, 27 Senate Democrats voted for resolutions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders to block weapons deliveries to Israel. As Democrats begin to look toward the 2028 presidential primary, 71% of respondents (and 76% of Gen Z Democrats) say they would prefer to support a candidate for president who voted to withhold weapons to Israel. Just 10% say they would prefer to support a candidate who voted against those resolutions.
MORE KEY FINDINGS
Just 8% of respondents say they sympathize more with Israel than Palestinians, compared to 45% who sympathize more with the Palestinians, and just 7% have a favorable view of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
34% of Democratic primary voters (and 47% of Gen Z Democrats) say US foreign policy and relations with Israel will play a factor in their vote in 2026 and that they would prefer to reduce support for Israel, compared to just 6% who say relations with Israel will be a factor for their vote and that they would prefer to maintain or increase US support for Israel.
When asked to select three top issues, 16% of Democratic primary voters (and over 24% of Gen Z Democrats) say US foreign policy and relations with Israel is one of their top-three issues and that they would prefer to reduce support for Israel, compared to just 3% who selected relations with Israel as a top-three issue and that they would prefer to maintain or increase US support for Israel.
