Rasmussen Reports, a major American polling firm, has just conducted the first survey of American public opinion on the Israeli-Gaza conflict. Their conclusion: while overwhelming sympathetic to Israelis over Palestinians, Americans are nonetheless divided on the Israeli air attack and subsequent incursion into Gaza.

A plurality of Americans - 44% - support Israel’s actions, while 41% agree that Israel should have sought diplomatic solutions. 15% are undecided.

55% blame the Palestinians for the outbreak of escalated hostilities, while 13% lay the blame on Israel. 32% are unsure of who’s to blame.

Men are more supportive of Israel than women. A majority - 56% - of American men support the action, while only 34% of women do.

Similar, Whites are more supportive of Israel than African-America by a margin of three-to-one.

The survey also found that among those who state they are closely following event, 67% support Israel’s action against 30% who favor diplomacy.

There is a division of support for Israel among party lines. Republicans, the more hawkish party, support Israel’s military action by a margin of 62% in contrast to only 31% of Democrats. A majority of Democrats - the governing party in Congress and soon the White House - support diplomacy at 55%, while only 27% of Republicans favor a diplomatic effort.

Rasmussen also asked respondents if Israel was an ally. Overwhelmingly Republicans - 75% - saw Israel as an ally. Ironically, only 55% of Democrats agreed that Israel is an ally of the United States. Traditionally, the Democrat party is the party of Israel. Democratic President Harry S. Truman recognized Israel in 1948 and supported the new Jewish state with $100 million. Republicans have traditionally been more pro-Arab out of oil interest tied to the party. Today, both parties are strongly pro-Israel.

7% of Democrats said Israel is an enemy of the US, only 1% of Republicans agreed with that statement.

21% of Republicans and 28% of Democrats placed Israel between being an ally and an enemy.

51% of American stated that Israel’s action in Gaza will increase the chance of a terrorist attack against the United States, 17% said the ongoing conflict makes a terrorist attack in the US “very likely.” 9% agreed that Israel’s action will actually decrease the threat of terrorism to the United States.