Is Israel really isolated? Polls and diplomacy point in opposite directions
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Video Is Israel really more isolated? Former White House official claims support is rising among conservatives Richard Goldberg argues that Israel’s strategic relationships are expanding even as opposition grows among Democrats, international institutions and parts of Western public opinion.
President Donald Trump predicted in recent days that additional countries would soon join the Abraham Accords, renewing debate over whether Israel is becoming increasingly isolated or continuing to expand its most important strategic relationships.
"The Abraham Accords have been, I think, a tremendous success," Trump said during a Tuesday Oval Office meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. "I think you’re going to see a lot of countries joining pretty soon."
Trump's prediction underscores a central debate about Israel's global position: Public support for the country has fallen sharply in the United States and across much of the world, yet Israel continues to build or preserve diplomatic, military, energy and technology relationships with foreign governments.
President Donald Trump predicted in recent days that additional countries would soon join the Abraham Accords. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The Abraham Accords, brokered by the Trump administration in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sunday. Trump has made expanding the agreements a central goal of his Middle East strategy.
The dispute depends partly on how isolation is measured. Critics point to worsening public opinion, pressure at international institutions and growing opposition among Democrats and younger voters. Israeli officials and conservative foreign-policy experts argue that government-to-government cooperation remains strong and, in some regions, is expanding.
Trump reinforced that strategy Thursday by saying a U.S. civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia would depend on the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords. The statement showed the administration attempting to use one of Washington’s most valuable offers to Riyadh to secure normalization with Israel, but it did not demonstrate that Saudi Arabia had agreed to do so.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon rejected the contention that Israel had become isolated.
"The claim that Israel is an isolated country is simply not true," Danon told Fox News Digital. "While the campaign to dismantle the Hamas terrorist organization has drawn international criticism, Israel’s relationships with other countries have not weakened. They have evolved."
Former White House national security official Richard Goldberg similarly argued that Israel retains strong support among conservatives and that its electoral gains are translating into closer government relations.
"Polling in the United States shows massive support among conservatives and Republicans, including self-described MAGA, for Israel still," Goldberg told Fox News Digital. "And that’s reflected around the world, particularly among conservative candidates and parties that win elected office right now."
Goldberg pointed to political changes in Latin America, expanding partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean and Israel’s continuing defense and technology relationships as evidence that public criticism has not translated into comprehensive strategic isolation.
The dispute comes amid polling that shows Israel retaining deep support among Republicans while losing ground across the broader American electorate and much of the world.
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Anti-Israel protests in Istanbul. (Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images)
Eighty percent of self-identified MAGA Republicans said Israel’s security matters to U.S. security and prosperity, a Reagan Institute survey released in June found, while 73% supported sending Israel U.S. weapons. Among MAGA Republicans under 30, 63% said Israel’s security matters to the United States and 60% supported sending weapons.
The same survey found that broader support was narrowing. Sixty-five percent of Americans said Israel’s security matters to U.S. security and prosperity, down six percentage points from a year earlier.
The figure fell nine points among Democrats to 57%, compared with 75% of Republicans and 80% of MAGA Republicans.
A Pew Research Center survey published in June found that a median of 67% of adults across 36 countries viewed Israel unfavorably, while 25% viewed it favorably. The findings came from Pew’s Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey.
In the United States, 60% of adults viewed Israel unfavorably, up from 53% in 2025 and 42% in 2022, according to a separate Pew survey conducted March 23 to March 29. Eighty percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents held an unfavorable view, while negative assessments were also widespread among adults under 50.
Israel no longer held a statistically significant advantage over the Palestinians in Americans’ sympathies, Gallup reported in February. Forty-one percent said they sympathized more with the Palestinians and 36% with the Israelis, although Gallup said the five-point difference was not statistically significant.
In 2023, 54% sympathized more with Israelis and 31% with Palestinians.
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel highlighted that erosion during a July 8 speech at Tel Aviv University.
"Support for Israel around the world is declining," Emanuel said, "The only diplomatic achievement Israel has secured in the past three years is Somaliland."
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Anti-Israel activists hold banners that include, "globalize the intifada" during a protest commemorating Nakba Day May 15, 2025, in the Brooklyn, New York. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Emanuel’s conclusion focuses on Israel’s declining public legitimacy and its strained position in traditional diplomatic institutions. Goldberg and Danon argue that it overlooks expanding…
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