Australians have more negative view of Israel than of China, Guardian Essential poll finds

Poll also finds perception of Donald Trump has soured since his re-election, with fewer than a third of respondents viewing him positively

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Australians have a more negative view of Israel than of China, the latest Guardian Essential poll has found, with women and middle-aged people exhibiting the least positive perception of Israel.

The poll also finds Australians’ perceptions of Donald Trump have tumbled since his re-election, with fewer than a third of voters having a positive response to the US president.

The poll of 1,017 people last week asked respondents for their attitudes towards a number of countries including the US, China, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, the UK, Palestine and Israel . The highest favourability rating was towards the UK, with 53% of voters having either a positive or very positive reaction, followed by “European nations” with 47% favourability and Ukraine with 41%.

Only 29% of respondents had a favourable view of the US, with China on 24%, Palestine on 21% and Israel on just 19%. The lowest favourable ratings went to Iran (11%), Russia (13%) and Syria (15%).

The countries with the highest percentage of negative or very negative attitudes were Iran and Russia (both 57%), followed by Israel (46%), Syria (44%) and Palestine (41%).

The Australian government has had disagreements, disputes or outright conflicts with Russia, Iran and China, whereas Israel is a longstanding ally and partner – albeit amid diplomatic tensions in recent years about antisemitism in Australia and responses to Israel’s wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Israel’s government has been criticised by the Albanese government over the alleged abuse and taunting of activists, the military assault on Lebanon , and the death of the aid worker Zomi Frankcom after an IDF strike on an aid convoy in Gaza.

The questions did not exactly reflect those put in previous surveys, so it is unclear to what extent attitudes to all the countries have changed over time.

Just 14% of women said they had a positive attitude towards Israel. People aged 35 to 54 were the least favourable towards Israel, with 18% having a positive view. Those aged 18 to 34 were at 19%, and those 55 and over at 21%.

Only 23% of women said they viewed the US positively, with those aged 18 to 34 giving the most favourable response (35%), followed by those aged 35 to 54 at 29%, and 55 and over at 25%.

Australians have become more unfavourable toward Trump since he retook office. The poll found only 28% of respondents had favourable or very favourable views of the US president, down from 36% in June 2024. Trump’s favourability among Australians reached its all-time low of 21% in November 2020.

He is much more popular among Australian men (37% favourability) than women (20%). Among Australians aged 55 and over, only 23% viewed Trump favourably, compared with 31% of 18-34s and 33% of 35-54s.

Those who said they were voting for One Nation had the most positive attitude towards Trump, with 45% viewing him favourably. That compares with 34% of Coalition voters, 24% of Labor voters, 11% of Greens voters and just 8% of people saying they would vote for a minor party or independent.