A new Economist/YouGov poll found that nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. should arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, based on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. It’s a remarkable sign of how much public opinion has swung against the Israeli government in recent years — and may foreshadow a new kind of progressive policy litmus test.
The poll, which surveyed more than 1,500 people between July 25 and 27, found that 49% of Americans think the U.S. should arrest Netanyahu, while 27% think it should not — a 22-percentage-point margin. Another 23% say they weren’t sure. Strikingly, the position that Netanyahu should be arrested held significant support across the political spectrum: 68% of Democrats, 55% of independents and 24% of Republicans supported the idea.
Just as continued U.S. military and financial support for Israel has become an issue in Democratic primaries, so too could the question of arresting accused war criminals on U.S. soil.
The poll also asked whether respondents believed that Netanyahu is guilty of war crimes in Gaza. Again, nearly half said yes (47%), while 24% said no and 29% said they weren’t sure. The poll also found a similar range of opinion in response to the question, “Is Israel committing genocide against Palestinian civilians?”
The Economist/YouGov poll is part of a broader sea change in American sentiment toward Israel in recent years, as Israel’s military response to Hamas’ 2023 attacks pushed sympathies toward Palestinians. And yet this poll hints at something more — not just a crumbling of the once-ironclad U.S.-Israeli relationship, but in fact an openness to an adversarial relationship with Israel’s government by seeking punishment against its top officials.
The appetite for such a policy could be seen in the popularity among progressives of a social media video in which New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged that he lacked the authority to execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu — whom he called a “war criminal” — and called on President Donald Trump to have the Israeli prime minister arrested. Political analyst Michael Lange said it was Mamdani’s most-viewed video ever across all platforms, which, considering Mamdani’s status as a social media savant, suggests that he touched a nerve.
While Trump has already said an arrest will not happen, it’s possible Mamdani’s video could help stir enthusiasm among progressive Democrats for the idea of executing ICC warrants against Israeli officials or other figures indicted for war crimes, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin. And just as continued U.S. military and financial support for Israel has become an issue in Democratic primaries, so too could the question of arresting accused war criminals on U.S. soil. But in order for it to signify anything more than symbolic rhetoric, it would require acknowledging the U.S.’ long refusal to join the ICC to avoid its own potential arrest warrants and calling for a reversal of that stance.
Whether support for arresting Netanyahu gains traction as a progressive rallying cry, this poll underscores how radically different U.S. attitudes on Israel are becoming, and how the bilateral policy space is ripe for change.
The post What a poll showing widespread support for the U.S. arresting Netanyahu means appeared first on MS NOW.
