Why Israel Is Becoming a Flashpoint for the GOP’s Young Voters

For decades, American support for Israel has been near universal among elected officials, and a supermajority of voters in both major parties have expressed support for the American-Israel alliance. Within the Republican Party, backing Israel has been reinforced by evangelical Christian voters, who see it as both strategic and theological. With younger generations becoming a more prominent part of the electorate, the once-universal support for Israel is changing fast.

Young voters are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the major parties, and a lot of that has do with the issue of Israel. This article is meant to dive into the way a lot of young voters (particularly young men) think on this topic, because it’s important to understand where they’re coming from if Republicans want to keep their support in the next few elections.

Even discussing this topic has become a third-rail for politicians and political commentators. When Tucker Carlson recently pressed Texas Senator Ted Cruz on his unconditional support for Israel, many in the Republican Party lambasted Carlson as antisemitic. Young Millennials and Gen Z voters, this suggested that there’s something behind the metaphorical curtain that we’re not allowed to talk about.

To explore this perspective, I spoke with James Paskalides, the host of the popular right-wing podcast America Unfiltered. James is in his mid twenties and has been very vocal on his show about wanting to keep foreign influence out of American politics, namely Israel, and he provided insight into why this is an important issue for young voters.

“It’s about what we can and can’t talk about. If you go back 10 years ago, you couldn't really talk about black crime and you couldn't really talk about you know transgender politics,” Paskalides points out, “but the only issue that you still can’t talk about is the Israel topic.”

This drives young people to believe there might be something sinister going on behind the scenes. Whether there’s something there or not, it sparks curiosity, and the taboo nature of this political topic in particular isn’t helping Republican lawmakers regain the trust of young men who voted overwhelmingly for the GOP in the last election. Paskalides argues that attempts to shut down debate only deepen disengagement.

“What’s in our DNA is that we want to speak freely,” Paskalides says, “we want to be able to use our voices and we're unwilling to be silenced so when you tell a group of young people that it's one of the only issues that you can't openly talk about without your fear of [being labeled antisemitic], I think it pushes even more people to want to be vocal about it and it makes it a bigger issue than it's ever been.”

Contrasting this perspective with that of older GOP voters, I also spoke with a Republican candidate for Texas’ state legislature who asked to remain anonymous. The candidate, a man in his late 50s, articulated a view still common among GOP primary voters and party leadership. He said his support for Israel is rooted in his Christian faith and cited Genesis 12:3, which states “I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”

“I’m a Christian, and I know the verse in Genesis 12:3 where it says the Lord will bless those who bless Israel,” the candidate said. “I want the Lord’s blessing, so I’m 100 percent behind Israel. I won’t apologize for that.”

Notably, Gen Z is more likely to attend church than previous generations, with young men attending church more often than any other demographic. These same individuals are mentally separating the modern-day nation of Israel from the Israelites in the Bible, and are much more willing to question whether sending American weapons and tax dollars to fund the government of Israel is in America’s best interest. They see organizations like AIPAC as acting on behalf of a foreign governments, and Trump’s foreign policy of sending weapons and aid to other countries as contradictory to the America First agenda he campaigned on.

“Donald Trump isn't really taking us seriously and that he's not taking the youth of America seriously who really wanted to see the 2016 Trump,” Paskalides commented.

With male voters under 30 breaking for Trump a 3-2 margin in 2024, Republicans need to be aware of how fragile that support may be on the national scale.

Paskalides provided some insights into the coming elections, saying “it's clear at the right has split up into multiple fractions now and I think the American first side is the side that will probably gain the most influence.”

Polling over the past three years shows a sharp increase in negative sentiment toward Israel among Millennials and Gen Z Republicans, while older voters remain overwhelmingly supportive. The electoral consequences of this divide may begin to surface as early as the 2026 midterms, but several young conservatives argue the larger impact will be felt in 2028.

“I don't think you're really gonna be turning a lot of Republicans into Democrats,” Paskalides predicts, “but I do think there will be a massive amount of Republicans, who normally would've voted for the Republican candidate, and they might refrain from voting if the only options they have are right-wing candidates who did take money from the Israel lobby.”

This sentiment is echoed by young conservatives across the country.

“Young men may never vote Republican again,” said Michael MacGregor, a Texas voter in his 20s. “We’re not going to vote Democrat, but we were promised that Trump would put America First. Instead, we have the Republican Party sending our money to Israel while we can’t afford a home in our own country.”

Polling suggests MacGregor’s frustration reflects a broader generational shift. A recent national GOP poll found that a majority of Republicans under 45 would prefer a candidate who supports reducing U.S. weapons aid to Israel in a 2028 Republican primary. Fifty one percent of respondents under 45 said they favored reducing aid, compared to just 27 percent who said they would prefer maintaining or increasing it. The results point to a growing disconnect between younger Republican voters and long standing party positions on Israel.

Ultimately, this boils down to a few main ideas. Young people care about this issue, and they care about it a lot. It’s not about Israel itself, but it’s about the political elites in America telling young people that this issue is off-limits, which only drives them to think something nefarious is going on. Mix in the fact that the government continues to send aid to overseas while younger generations are struggling to afford the American Dream here at home, and it’s a natural reaction.

Young voters aren’t going to stick around in the GOP if they don’t feel heard and if their issues are being ignored or shut down. Young voters voted for America First. They’re not feeling like that promise has been fulfilled, and they might stay at home for the next election.