Date: 16 April 2024
A New Poll of Public Opinion was conducted in five European countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden, by the international polling company Yougov Plc and commissioned by us at the PIPD.
The polls shows that at least half of people in voting age support a ban on arms trade with Israel (Italy-65%, Belgium-62%, Sweden-50%, France-51%, Germany-49%), while a significant amount are aware of claims that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and think the claims are true (Italy-49%, Sweden-46%, Belgium-43%, France-34%, Germany-33%).
The poll also shows there is a clear generational dimension, with the younger people (18-24 years old) – also known as “Gen Z” – being more conscious of the undermining of Palestinian rights by Israel including genocide, supporting ban of arms trade and recognizing censorship of social media platforms, of issues related to censorship and the link between the Palestinian question with global issues such as the “fight for equality” and “freedom”.
Generally, sanctions against Israel meet large approval particularly banning arms trade [Italy-65%, Belgium- 62%, France-51%, Sweden-50%, Germany-50%] and prosecuting Israeli officials for war crimes [Italy-62%, Belgium- 61%, Germany -51%, France-51%, Sweden-49%].
More people think their government is currently more supportive of Israel (except Belgium-16%) [Germany- 44%, France-29%, Italy-36%, Sweden-25%] than Palestine and more people think their government should either be more supportive of Palestinians or have a balanced stance [Belgium-45%, Germany-49%, France-43%, Italy-52%, Sweden-48% rather than support Israel.
The poll also finds that people believe there is censorship from the part of social media platforms on content by Palestinians and/or criticizing Israel, while in most countries (except Sweden), more people perceive their media coverage is more biased towards Israel [Germany-30%, Belgium-23%, France-30%, Italy-36%, Sweden-18%] rather than being impartial [Germany-30%, Belgium-24%, France-18%, Italy-21%, Sweden-28%] or biased towards Palestinians [Germany-9%, Belgium- 21%, France-10%, Italy-9%, Sweden-24%].
This corroborates quantitative studies that have been made regarding media bias in the US, France and the UK, and reports on social media heavily censoring Palestinian voices.
“Hundreds of thousands of people came out in the streets of Europe to demand a ceasefire and support Palestinian rights, yet most governments have continued their cooperation and friendly relations with the Israeli regime while repressing solidarity with Palestine. The poll shows that the government is at odds with its people’s view and should stop its complicity” said Inès Abdel Razek, Director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy.
Overall, the results also show that the level of awareness and knowledge of issues affecting Palestinians and their rights remain quite low among the population, with a majority acknowledging little to no knowledge about these issues [Germany-67%, Belgium-62%, France-53%, Italy-65%, Sweden-62%] and there remains a critical opportunity to carry a better outreach, inform and educate people on Palestinian issues that our movement will continue to work on.
ANALYSIS OF RESULTS BY COUNTRY:
Belgium – Overview of Analysis – Yougov Tables
France – Overview of Analysis– Yougov Tables
Germany – Overview of Analysis – Yougov Tables
Italy – Overview of Analysis – Yougov Tables
Sweden – Overview of Analysis– Yougov Tables
About the Polling Methodology
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The survey was carried out online. This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered members of the YouGov Plc Global panel of 2.4 million+ individuals across 55+ who have agreed to take part in surveys. An email was sent to panelists selected at random from the base sample according to the sample definition, inviting them to take part in the survey and providing a link to the survey. (The sample definition could be “France adult population” or a subset such as “France adult females”).
Belgium: Total sample size was 1,168 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th – 14th March 2024. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Belgium adults (aged 18+).
France: Total sample size was 1,283 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th – 18th March 2024. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults in France (aged 18+).
Sweden: Total sample size was 1,022 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th – 19th March 2024. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults in Sweden (aged 18+).
Italy: Total sample size was 1,191 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th – 15th March 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults in Italy (aged 18+).
Germany: The total sample size consisted of 2,086 adults. Fieldwork was conducted online from March 11th to March 18th, 2024. The figures have been weighed and are representative of all adults in Germany (aged 18+).
For related inquiries, please reach out to us at: info@thepipd.com.