On Monday, February 27, The Jerusalem Post reported a statement attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wherein he asserted that "four out of five U.S. citizens support Israel over Hamas," citing recent data from the Harvard Caps/Harris Poll. Netanyahu underscored that this widespread backing bolsters Israel's resolve to persist in its campaign in Gaza until it achieves what he termed as "total victory."
Netanyahu's statement came in response to remarks made by the U.S. President Joe Biden during an interview on NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers", where he stated, "Israel will lose global support if it maintains its incredibly conservative government."
Assessing the Accuracy of Netanyahu’s Claim: Four Out of Five Americans Support the War on Gaza
Netanyahu's reference to the poll presents a skewed perspective, as alternate data concerning the American public's stance on the war on Gaza does not reflect such a high level of sympathy or support for Israel. According to a report by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published on February 27, this particular poll frames Americans with a binary choice between Israel and Hamas, diverging from other surveys that provide varied options related to the "Israeli-Palestinian war," yielding differing outcomes.
The article elucidates that, unlike its counterparts, this specific survey omitted response options such as "don't know," "equal support for both sides," or similar choices, which were available in other surveys, and their proportion were statistically prevalent. Consequently, participants were compelled to opt for one of two choices, even if they lacked an opinion or familiarity with the subject matter.
The newspaper contends that Americans do indeed express support for Israel, but to a much lesser extent than claimed by Netanyahu. Furthermore, it highlights that the present challenge confronting Israel within the United States predominantly revolves around the positions held by Democrats and American youth.
What do the remaining opinion polls in the United States provide regarding the Palestinian cause, and what prompts apprehension among the occupation authorities regarding the shifting attitudes among American youth?
U.S. Public Opinion on Palestinian Cause Ahead of the October 7 Operation
In November 2023, the Financial Times published a compilation of statistical data, prepared by Reuters, pertaining to the American public's viewpoint on the "Israeli-Palestinian war."
In one of the polls compiled in May 2023, U.S. citizens were asked about the side they sympathize with more (Palestine or Israel). The percentage of sympathy with Israel was 29%, while the percentage of sympathy with the Palestinians was 15%. The majority of participants, accounting for 55%, either sympathized equally with both sides or were unable to make a specific decision.
Following the onset of the Israeli war in Gaza, the trajectory of public sentiment in the United States concerning the Palestinian cause shifted. Surveys conducted in November 2023 indicated a notable increase in sympathy toward Israel among Americans, rising to 41%, whereas sympathy toward Palestinians declined to 13%. The majority, at 47%, remained neutral or uncertain.
The survey was conducted amidst Israel's efforts to disseminate its propaganda, which comprised numerous false narratives about the events of October 7. Among these were claims, later debunked by Misbar reports, alleging that the Israeli military discovered beheaded children in settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip, purportedly overrun by Hamas. These claims gained traction through several major Western media outlets before being retracted at a later stage.
Of significance in this survey is the observation that the highest level of sympathy toward Israel in the United States, reaching 76%, was among individuals who voted for Donald Trump in 2020. Conversely, the demographic displaying the greatest sympathy toward Palestinians were young adults and teenagers (aged 18–29), comprising 28% of respondents.
Growing American Sympathy Towards Palestinians Amid the Ongoing War on Gaza
Surveys conducted in January of the previous year indicate a shifting trend in American public opinion towards greater sympathy with the Palestinian cause. According to a poll conducted by the Economist/YouGov between January 21 and 23, 2024, respondents were asked whether they believed the Israeli campaign in Gaza amounted to genocide. The results revealed that 35% of participants agreed that it did, while 36% disagreed, and 29% were unable to provide a definitive response.
The survey highlights a notable trend among young people and teenagers aged 18–29, with 49% believing that Israel is committing genocide, while only 24% reject this assertion. These percentages closely align with those of Democratic respondents.
Israel Is Concerned About the Shift in American Public Opinion Over the Gaza War
“More than half of young Americans support calls to exterminate the Jews,” the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post used this phrase at the beginning of its article published on December 17, 2023, which tracks statistical results conducted by the American Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll Foundation.
The article points out Israeli concern about the tendency of American youth between the ages of 18 and 24 to sympathize with Palestinians and express negative opinions towards the occupying state. The first paragraph of the article stated, “Half of American youth surveyed about the conflict between Israel and Hamas believe that the Jewish state must be ended and replaced with a Palestinian entity.”
The article states that 60% of these young people believe that Al-Aqsa Flood operation led by Hamas against the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip can be justified by the injustices suffered by Palestinians. The author of the article then elaborates, stating, “this indicates that they believe that the extermination of Israelis is justified.”
Elsewhere, the article cites that 53% of American youth in this age group believe that students on university campuses have the right to call for the genocide of the Jews. However, the article does not clarify that what is being debated in the media and on American universities as “the call to genocide of the Jews,” is in fact the chant of “Free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
Why Do American Youth and Teenagers Sympathize More With the Palestinians Than With Others?
In an article published on December 21, 2023, The Washington Post explores the inclination of young Americans between 18-29 years to show more sympathy towards Palestinians and less towards Israel. The article raises the question, “Why do the views of this age group differ from those of older Americans, aged over sixty?”
The article draws on the insights of a group of experts to answer this question, including Dov Waxman, the director of the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Centre for Israeli Studies at the University of California. Waxman attributes this divergence to the fact that these two age groups represent two generations that experienced vastly different narratives about Israel, with each group carrying distinct memories of the country.
Additionally, the older generation of Americans lived through the Holocaust and the hardships endured by the Jewish people during World War II. They view Israel as the story of the Jews' return to their ancestral homeland after 2,000 years of exile and persecution. This generation perceives Israel as a newly established state with a fragile economy, engaged in ongoing conflicts with surrounding enemies. Despite these challenges, they admire Israel's victories against its Arab adversaries in the wars of 1948, 1967, and 1973.
On the other hand, Waxman believes that the younger generation experienced a different narrative of Israel, viewing it as a nuclear state with a robust economy and a formidable army. They became familiar with the “Palestinian-Israeli conflict” through reports on the second Palestinian intifada, the separation walls, and the deprivation of Palestinians of water, freedom of movement, and fair trials.
Meanwhile, Joey Ayoub, a Palestinian-Lebanese writer, podcaster and academic, believes that the younger generation of Americans are more likely to perceive the Palestinian cause through the lens of racial justice in the United States. Ayoub adds that it is easy to see the similarity between a heavily armed soldier and a policeman who dominates a space occupied by a group of vulnerable people, whether it be in a town in the occupied West Bank or in a neighborhood inhabited by a black majority in the United States.
Finally, the article adds that some experts attribute this shift to the absence of religious affiliation among young Americans. The older generation views Israel as the vanguard in the conflict between “the two Jewish-Christian civilizations and the militias of Islam, while the younger generation distances itself from framing these issues from an evangelical religious perspective.”
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