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Americans are split over whether Israel's response has been too much or about right in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack — with a majority of Democrats now saying it's been too much, according to the latest 

The results were driven by people of color and younger respondents, who were far more likely than others to say Israel has gone too far, and said their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians than Israelis.

There are also clear divides on whether to fund both the Israel and Ukraine wars or to fund neither, and whether the U.S. should take a leadership role in the world at all. Again, younger Americans and nonwhites — as well as majorities of independents and Republicans — say the U.S. should focus more on problems at home.

Congress and its sprint to fund the government

 by Friday, the survey found that new House Speaker Mike Johnson is largely unknown, but respondents said he should compromise with Democrats. Republicans, however, are split on whether that should be the case.

Big majorities said it's not appropriate to use the threat of a shutdown as leverage during budget negotiations. Republicans, though, were more than twice as likely than Democrats to say use it. If the government does shut down, Republicans are more likely to get the blame, the poll found.

Israel has responded to Hamas' attack with as massive show of force that has killed more than 11,000 people, according to Palestinian officials, the vast majority of them civilians.

The poll found Americans divided over Israel's military actions. Thirty-eight percent said the Israeli response has been too much, while an equal number said it's been "about right."

The number of people who said the response has gone too far is up 12 points from a month ago.

A majority of Democrats now say the response has been too much.

There are big racial and generational divides.

"Too much" aligns with pro-Biden groups. 

"About right" lines up with pro-Trump groups. 

Americans' sympathies overall lie with Israel in this conflict, but Democrats are split

By a 61 percent-30 percent margin, respondents said their sympathies lie more with Israelis than Palestinians, but that's driven by Republicans (79 percent) and independents (67 percent), who overwhelmingly support Israel.

Democrats are split, 45 percent-45 percent.

Again, there are big racial and generational divides. 

There is great concern over the war leading to hate crimes in the U.S.

There's a divide over whether to fund both Israel's and Ukraine's wars — or neither

Some 36 percent said they don't want to authorize funding for either war, fueled by independents (49 percent) and Republicans (40 percent).

Independent women were the most likely to say fund neither war (58 percent), 17 points higher than men who identified as politically independent.

Respondents split between funding both Ukraine and Israel, or neither

About an equal share — 35 percent — said they wanted to fund both wars, another 14 percent only want to provide funding to Israel and 12 percent only to Ukraine.

There was a big age and racial gap here, too.

Older voters and college-educated women were most likely to say fund both. 

All of this tracks with how people feel about America's role in the world

There were big splits over whether United States should continue to play a leadership role in the world. The divides were again most acute by party, race and age.

Divided opinions on the U.S. role in the world

When it comes to the Israel-Hamas war, 55 percent said they disapprove of Biden's handling of it, 3 points worse than last month.

Overall, Biden's job approval rating is languishing at just 42 percent.

That cynicism extends beyond Biden, though.

that people think they're more unified than Republicans by a 60 percent-27 percent margin.

Shutdown politics: people say they want compromise

Newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson is still not well-known — 46 percent say they don't know who he is or are unsure what to think.

But by a huge margin — 67 percent to 27 percent — respondents said they think it's more important for Johnson to compromise rather than stand on principle even if it means gridlock.

Three-quarters say it's not acceptable to threaten a shutdown to achieve their goals in a budget negotiation 

If the government shuts down, Republicans would get more of the blame. 

Parties share responsibility for the national debt, respondents say. 

Methodology: The survey of 1,429 adults was conducted Nov. 6-9 by the Marist Poll by phone, both cell phones and landlines using live interviewers, by text or online in both English and Spanish. The margin of error is + or - 3.4 percentage points, meaning results could be about 3 points lower or higher.

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Domenico Montanaro

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An equal number say Israel's response to Hamas' attack has either been too much or about right. A majority of Democrats now say it's been too much, driven by people of color and younger respondents.

More Americans are saying Israel's response is going too far in its war with Hamas

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