Marchers in the Celebrate Israel parade. Photo: Celebrate Israel.

JNS.org – Israel remains by far the most favorably viewed country in the Middle East for Americans, according tonew survey by Gallup.

Seventy-two percent of those surveyed had a “very favorable” view of Israel. The next-closest country in terms of earning a “very favorable” view was Egypt at 45 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia at 35 percent.

But the survey found a generational gap between Americans on Israel and the Palestinians. Roughly 81 percent of those 55 and older viewed Israel as very/mostly favorable, while only 64 percent ages 18-34 expressed the same sentiment. On the Palestinians, 24 percent of younger Americans viewed them favorably, compared to only 16 percent of those 55 and older.

Meanwhile, Iran remains the least favorable Mideast country in the eyes of Americans, with only 12 percent favorably rating the Islamic Republic and roughly 84 percent rating the country mostly/very unfavorably.