Support for U.S.-Israel Defense Goals Varies

A Change Research national survey of 2,045 registered voters, conducted August 8–13, 2026, finds that support for expanded U.S.-Israel defense cooperation ranges, with broad agreement on intelligence sharing and nuclear prevention but division on whether the US should be protecting Israel.

The House of Representatives passed the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act in late July, a $1.15 trillion defense spending package that includes provisions for expanded military and intelligence cooperation between the United States and Israel. The legislation comes in the context of ongoing U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, including strikes earlier this year that killed Iran’s top leadership.

Intelligence Sharing and Deterrence

Sharing intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks draws the broadest support of any goal the survey asked about, with 68% of voters backing it. The partisan divide is the narrowest of any item in the survey: 52% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans back it.

Deterring Iran and its allies from future attacks draws similarly broad overall support, at 66%. The partisan gap is wider on this goal, with 40% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans in support.

Iran Policy Goals

Preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon draws 67% overall support, the second-highest of any goal the survey asked about. Forty-three percent of Democrats and 93% of Republicans back it.

Removing Iran’s government from power draws 55% overall support, and the partisan gap is the widest of any goal in the survey: 23% of Democrats support it, compared to 86% of Republicans.

Defending Israel

Forty-eight percent of voters support helping Israel defend itself as a goal of the defense bill, with 42% opposed. Support for protecting Israel as a stated goal of U.S. military action against Iran is nearly even: 46% of voters support it, while 45% oppose it. 19% of Democrats support the goal, compared to 76% of Republicans. Strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance more broadly draws a similar overall split, with 48% supporting and 42% opposing.

Military Commitment

52% of voters oppose committing the U.S. to fight alongside Israel if war breaks out; 38% support it. Opposition is highest among voters ages 18 to 34, at 78%, compared to 37% of voters ages 50 to 64.

Strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance in general finds comparable overall support and opposition, at 48% and 42%, respectively.

Methodology

Polling was conducted online from August 8–13, 2026. Using Dynamic Online Sampling to attain a representative sample, Change Research polled 2,045 registered voters nationally. The modeled margin of error is ±2.3 percentage points. Members of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative disclose all relevant details about our research, with the principle that the public should be able to evaluate and understand research-based findings, in order to instill and restore public confidence in survey results.