On Capitol Hill, Israeli PM says \u2018demonization\u2019 led to drop in support for Israel among US voters, especially Democrats<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> said on Tuesday that he\u2019s vowed to combat an orchestrated social media campaign of \u201cvilification and demonization\u201d that he says is responsible for a drop in support for Israel among US voters, especially Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think there\u2019s been a concerted effort to spread vilification and demonization against Israel<\/a> on social media,\u201d the Israeli prime minister told journalists on Capitol Hill after being asked to respond to opinion polls showing a move away from the historic trend of strong backing for Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s directed, it\u2019s funded. It is malignant. We intend to fight it, because nothing defeats lies like the truth, and we shall spread the truth for everyone to see once people are exposed to the facts, we win hands down. That\u2019s what we intend to do in the coming months and years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Netanyahu\u2019s comments came during a visit to Congress<\/a>, where he met the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They also followed the recent victory<\/a> of Zohran Mamdani<\/a> in the Democratic primary race for the mayor of New York, which commentators\u2002believe<\/a> was partly fueled by the candidate\u2019s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel\u2019s military offensive in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A range of surveys have shows a marked decline in support for Israel among Democratic-leaning voters amid rising disquiet about the impact of the war in the now devastated coastal territory. The ongoing war has killed about 60,000 people \u2013 most of them Palestinians \u2013 and has seen much of the population threatened with starvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Gallup poll<\/a> in March showed less than half of the US public sympathized with Israel\u2019s position, the lowest figure recorded since the organization started taking surveys on the issue. Among Democrat voters, 38% sympathize with the Palestinians over the Israelis, a reversal of a 2013 Gallup survey, which saw Democrats sympathizing with Israelis by a margin of 36%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n