American Opinion on Israel: A Gaping Generational Divide
"While this Harris/Harvard poll gives cause for a collective sigh of relief amongst supporters of Israel, it also uncovers, once again, a serious cause for concern: We are losing the next generation."
By Joanna Landau and Dr. Kobby Borda
A survey conducted by Harris/Harvard earlier this month reveals that most Americans (81%) express support for Israel over Hamas. However, 50% of Americans aged 18-24 now support Hamas, up from the 45% of respondents when asked that question a month ago. This specific survey asks deeper questions than most others, and provides a fascinating overview of what’s happening in America in terms of values, political identity and viewpoints that are telling not just as they relate to the war in the Middle East or the attitude towards Jews in America, but also about the current state of mind of the future decision-makers of the most important democratic superpower.
The bottom line is this: The survery reveals that, putting aside the generational divide, between the two sides of the war, the American public is significantly more supportive of Israel. When asked whether the U.S. should be supporting Israel or not, 65% said yes, and an overwhelming majority 81% (similar to 82% in November) said that Israel has the right to defend itself. Regarding whether Israel should continue fighting until the hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated, 63% (up from 61% in November) answered in the affirmative (with 37% – down 2% from November – preferring a permanent ceasefire), despite daily reports of casualties in Gaza.
The survey illuminates prevailing perceptions among Americans regarding Hamas, highlighting the attribution of classic terrorist intentions to the organization, sentiments that transcend justifications based on Palestinian grievances. Specifically, 73% of respondents (compared to 72% in November) firmly asserted that attacks on Israel cannot be justified by the Palestinians’ grievances. Furthermore, a substantial 81% of participants (up from 80% in November) expressed the view that Hamas uses civilians as human shields, underscoring the organization’s responsibility for the tragic deaths of numerous civilians. Additionally, a significant majority, 66%, characterized Hamas as a terror group wielding power through force and fear, an increase from the 64% recorded in the November survey.
The study also delved into how the October 7 attack on Israel and the country’s ensuing response are perceived, addressing arguments that characterize the military incursion as disproportionate or a premeditated Israeli act of revenge for the massacre that took place that day. The results reveal a divergence from the narrative circulating on social media: When asked if the recent attack on Israel was a terrorist attack, 84% of respondents (consistent with the November findings) affirmed it was indeed a terrorist attack. Additionally, 73% (compared to 72% in November) maintained this perspective because they consider attacks against Israel as genocidal. Notably, 84% believe Hamas committed rapes, a question that wasn’t asked in previous polls, but an important finding to counter the deafening silence of women’s groups, notably UN Women.
While this poll gives cause for a collective sigh of relief amongst supporters of Israel, it also uncovers – as it did in October and then, again, in November – a serious cause for concern: We are losing the next generation. With 81% of the 18-24 cohort saying they are closely following the conflict, as opposed to the national average of 69%, we need to pay special attention to their conclusions from the content they are exposed to.
As mentioned above, when asked whether the attacks on Israel can be justified by the grievances of the Palestinians, almost 3 in 4 Americans think they aren’t, but looking just at Gen Z, 60% said they are justified (up from 56% in November). This mirrors the worrying increase in support of Hamas amongst this age cohort, up from 45% in November to a full 50% in December who said they support the terrorist organization, as mentioned above. Such an increase should raise a massive, red flag, not just for Jews and Israel, but for Americans as a whole: Something has gone awry with this generation that it thinks rape, torture, hostage-taking and beheading can be justified (in other words – that it’s “context-dependent”), or that it outright supports a terrorist organization that is outlawed in the U.S.
It also appears that young Americans are very confused about the entire issue: When asked whether calling for genocide of Jews on campus constitutes hate speech, 70% of 18-24 year-olds answered in the affirmative. 71% said such calls constitute harassment too. And 3 in 4 of them were of the opinion that university presidents who said calls for genocide were not harassment should resign. Yet at the same time, 53% of 18-24 year-olds said that students should be free to call for genocide on campuses.
We are not convinced the conclusion should be that half of young people in America believe that genocidal calls are acceptable, so long as they apply only to Jews. Or to put it more bluntly, that half of the future of America is anti-Semitic. To us, it indicates a very binary understanding of life that cannot handle when two values they believe wholeheartedly in (the right to free speech and the right to be defended from harassment and hate speech) clash so blatantly. It seems like the American educational K-12 system needs rewiring if they don’t want the next generation to view the world in the same way.
There are many more examples from the results of this poll that warrant a deeper inspection into the skewed understanding of the world American youngsters are expressing, but we remind our readers that for the purposes of the current war – the youngest cohort should concern us far less: they represent only 20% of the registered vote in America, and only half tend to actually vote. If we’ve lost 50% of them, that leaves 50% who are still with us. Add to that, most of them are very liberal and aren’t likely to be voting Republican, so we expect Biden is not seeing this age group as a clear and present danger to the upcoming presidential election. Long-term, however, is an entirely different story.
In summary, the study, which surveyed 2,034 registered voters in the U.S., reveals distinct conclusions over time. While the present moment suggests robust, significant support for Israel among the American public (excluding the younger generation), there are ominous clouds on the horizon for Israel and Jews in America (and dare we say it – for the free world as a whole). Strategic thinking is imperative, entailing efforts to rebrand Israel especially to the Millennial and Gen Z generations, as they are the future leaders and decision-makers of the nation. Such a rebrand has to define why Israel is a relevant, appealing and attractive country to potential target audiences, and at the same time new communications strategies need to be developed to handle the controversial aspects of our brand. Time is not in our favor, it is incumbent upon the Israeli government and pro-Israel supporters to rally around the need to redefine how the Jewish state manages its reputation in the long run, in a post-October 7 reality.
Joanna Landau is the best-selling co-author of “Ethical Tribing: Connecting the Next Generation to Israel in the Digital Era,” and a global expert on country branding.
Dr. Kobby Barda received his Ph.D. in American Political history and International Affairs, and is a researcher of American politics, specializing in research on Grassroots lobbies groups and their influence on Israel-U.S. relations. He is the host and owner of the podcast “America, Baby.”
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