A new survey from the Chicago Council finds that most Americans oppose sending U.S. forces to defend Israel if it comes under attack. If Israel is attacked by Iran, 56% oppose U.S. intervention to defend them. If Israel is attacked by any of its immediate neighbors, 55% oppose sending U.S. troops to defend them in that scenario. Now that these scenarios are not so hypothetical, most Americans aren’t interested in having the U.S. military come to the rescue.
Support for U.S. intervention to defend Israel has declined significantly since 2021. Three years ago, 53% of the public supported direct intervention, and now that figure is 41%. Support among Democrats has dropped 6 points to 35%. Support has dropped among independents by 14 points, and among Republicans it has dropped 17. Most Republicans still favor intervention.
Unfortunately, no one in the administration seems to know or care that most of the country doesn’t want the U.S. to rush to Israel’s defense. The Biden administration has been sending more ships, jets, and military personnel to the Middle East in the wake of the Israeli government’s latest reckless and provocative attacks. If Iran and its proxies launch their reprisals in the coming days, American deployed on the ground and at sea throughout the region will be at much greater risk and the U.S. will even closer to the major war that every administration official keeps claiming not to want.
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Daniel Larison is a contributing editor for Antiwar.com and maintains his own site at Eunomia. He is former senior editor at The American Conservative. He has been published in the New York Times Book Review, Dallas Morning News, World Politics Review, Politico Magazine, Orthodox Life, Front Porch Republic, The American Scene, and Culture11, and was a columnist for The Week. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago, and resides in Lancaster, PA. Follow him on Twitter.
