According to a new Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll, a strong majority of Americans support Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas.
As reported by The Hill, the survey found that 84 percent of respondents demonstrated support for Israel, whereas 16 percent supported Hamas. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden gained a 44 percent approval rating, following 58 percent who support his job in Israel.
"Americans strongly support Israel against Hamas' terrorist attacks by 80 percent or more. However, there is a split not among the parties but among the generations as 95 percent of seniors support Israel while support drops to only 52 percent among the youngest voter group," said Mark Penn, Co-Director of the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll and Stagwell Chairman and CEO.
"President Biden's vocal support of Israel is winning approval from both sides, while the Republicans' chaos in the House is doing the opposite."
Regarding age, 52 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds said they took Israel’s side, more with Israel, while 48 percent sided more with Hamas. On the other hand, 95 percent of respondents 65 years and older supported Israel, while 5 percent backed Hamas.
The poll also found that 76 percent of respondents said the attack by Hamas on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 civilians, could not be justified, while 24 percent said it could be justified.
The majority who said that the Hamas killings could be justified was seen in the 18-24-year-old demographic, with 51 percent saying the killings could be justified due to the grievances of the Palestinians, while 49 percent were not justified.
Additionally, 58 percent of respondents said that college students who blamed Israel for the violence condoned violence and terrorism, while 42 percent said those college students were not. However, 55 percent said prospective employers should hire pro-Hamas students, while 45 percent said that employers should not hire those students.
“There is strong support for Israel across all parties and against Hamas. They think Israel should not cease hostilities until they have weakened Hamas,” said Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll.
“However, those of college age are split on the Israel-Hamas issue [and] many of them do not believe Hamas committed any atrocities and that Israel was responsible for the hospital bombing. Seniors, in contrast, provide universal support for Israel,” he added.
The October Harvard CAPS / Harris poll survey, which featured 2,116 registered voters, was conducted online within the United States on October 18-19, 2022.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Alexi J. Rosenfeld / Stringer
Video Courtesy: Reuters via YouTube
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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