Can’t say this is surprising, but it’s good to remember as the U.S. prepares to potentially have to veto the Palestinian bid for statehood. The U.N. Security Council today agreed to send the Palestinian statehood application to a council committee for review and the first meeting of that 15-member committee will be this Friday. In the meantime, American opposition remains stalwart, even if less so among Democrats, women and young people:

Most Americans don’t think that the Palestinians should be allowed to become full members of the United Nations, according to a new national survey. And the CNN/ORC International Poll also indicates that only four in ten support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza, but that there’s a wide partisan divide over the issue. …

The survey also indicates that politics no longer stops at the water’s edge. Two-thirds of all Republicans oppose U.N. membership for the Palestinians compared to just 41 percent of Democrats. There are also gender and generational differences on this issue, with men and people over 50 years old more likely to oppose U.N. membership for the Palestinians.

It’s hard not to attribute youthful sympathy toward the Palestinian cause to a lack of knowledge of the historical reasons for the conflict in the first place. The poll supports that hypothesis somewhat: While Israelis boast a favorability rating about 30 points higher than the favorability rating of Palestinians, a number of those polled reported feeling “unsure” about the Palestinians.