Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll Exposes Deep Generational Divide on Israel-Palestine Conflict

A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll conducted on December 13–14 among 2,034 registered voters revealed a profound generational divide in attitudes towards the Israel-Palestine conflict. 

Among Americans aged 18–24, a surprising 51% believe that Israel should be “ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians.” This sentiment decreases significantly with age, with only 4% of those 65 and older sharing a similar view. 

Sen. Roger Marshal told The New York Post, “These individuals siding with evil over democracy should be a wake-up call. Ideological rot among young Americans, driven by woke values and victim culture, has gotten so bad they’ve convinced themselves to sympathize with actual terrorists who hate America.”

While overall support for Israel stands at 81% across all age groups, within the 18–24 age bracket, support is evenly split between Israel and Hamas.

Roughly half of young Americans say Israel should be “ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians” amid the ongoing war despite continuing support for the Jewish state among older Americans, according to a new poll. | @dezward01 https://t.co/mcuyh8LNTC

— National Review (@NRO) December 18, 2023

The majority favors the removal of Hamas from running Gaza (58%), and 66% of respondents aged 18–24 view Hamas’s October 7 attack as genocidal. The survey illustrated that most voters polled think Israel is trying to avoid civilian casualties in the war against Hamas and that genocide is the primary goal of Hamas. Most voters say Israel is just trying to defend itself and think Hamas is dedicated only to the destruction of Israel, and believe Hamas is a terrorist group not supported by the people of Gaza, using civilians as human shields.

Photo Courtesy: Havard Harris Poll

On the issue of a solution, 32% of young Americans prefer a two-state solution, while 17% suggest that Arab states should absorb displaced Palestinians. 

Pew Research Center surmised of its most recent research, “Americans generally differ over whether President Joe Biden is striking the right balance in dealing with the Israelis and Palestinians (25%), favoring the Israelis too much (21%), or favoring the Palestinians too much (16%). Nearly four in ten adults say they are unsure how Biden handles this.”

The survey, conducted over 70 days after Hamas invaded Israel, causing over 1,200 deaths and approximately 240 kidnappings, explores a range of contradictory perspectives among young Americans on the conflict and issues related to antisemitism on college campuses. Three-quarters of respondents believe that antisemitism is on the rise in the U.S., while two-thirds think that discrimination against Muslims is increasing. Most voters perceive antisemitism as prevalent on university campuses, expressing concerns about harassment faced by Jewish students. Additionally, a strong majority believes that university presidents who do not consider calling for the genocide of Jews a violation of their school’s harassment policies should resign.

Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Lisa Maree Williams / Stringer

Video Courtesy:  Fox News via YouTube

This article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and edited by a human editor at ChristianHeadlines.com. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy and relevance. The information provided should be considered as a starting point for research or discussion, and readers are encouraged to verify the facts and seek additional sources.

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