Only 1% of Young US Voters ‘Most Concerned’ About Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Poll
Students are seen at an anti-Israel protest encampment at Stanford University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Stanford, California, US, April 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Americans aged 18-29 are overwhelmingly indifferent to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a new poll has found, casting doubt on conventional wisdom that the country’s youth are enraged over the Jewish state’s defensive military operations in Gaza.
When asked which issue concerned them most, a meager 1 percent of respondents within the youngest age bracket of eligible US voters answered the “Israel/Palestine conflict,” according to the poll by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.
In contrast, young voters expressed far more interest in domestic issues such as the economy, inflation, and abortion.
The Democratic Party’s recent overtures to anti-Israel activists could potentially be wrongheaded, according to the polling data, which found that young voters are not likely to trust Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris more than Republican nominee Donald Trump to resolve the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Among voters aged 18-29, 28 percent said they “trust” Trump on the war in Gaza and 26 percent “trust” Harris. Harris performed far better against Trump among young voters on an array of domestic issues such as gun control, abortion, health care, and education.
Though activists have insisted that embracing an arms embargo on the Jewish state will help Harris consolidate youth support ahead of Election Day in November, Harvard’s polling data paints a more complicated picture. Among young voters, 32 percent indicated they support implementing an “arms embargo with Israel,” and 20 percent said they were opposed. A plurality, 44 percent, responded they “don’t know” if they support blocking weapons transfers to Israel.
The data calls into question whether Democrats actually benefit from seeking to placate the anti-Israel forces within their own ranks. In recent months, Harris has attempted to win over pro-Palestinian voters by adopting a more adversarial posture toward the Jewish state.The Democratic National Convention (DNC), where Harris officially became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, hosted a panel on “Palestinian Human Rights” for the first time in history, in which activists accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
While accepting the presidential nomination, Harris vowed to end the Israel-Hamas war and secure an elusive ceasefire deal, along with a new era of “dignity, security, freedom, and self determination” for Palestinians.
Despite the extensive focus of media outlets, lawmakers, and commentators on the anti-Israel campus protests at elite universities such as Harvard, the latest polling data suggests that the typical young voter in the US shows minimal engagement with foreign affairs.
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