The Future of American Support for Israel

Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators rally near Columbia University (TOI)

I wish I could say I’m  surprised by a recent poll about American support for Israel’s war against Hamas. But I’m not. Nor am I all that alarmed by it. 

First the good news from a poll cited by the Times of Israel: 

Overall, the survey found that 81 percent of respondents back Israel.

Considering the massive toll on Palestinians in Gaza. the fact that 81% of Americans still back Israel says a lot about the basic fairness of the American people. They apparently have not forgotten what precipitated this war and understand that Israel is fighting for its very existence. All of which is helped by the resolve of the President who in spite of world criticism has stood firm in supporting Israel. 

And now the bad news:

...results from 18-24 age group show majority think IDF campaign ‘genocidal,’ while saying calls for genocide of Jews is are legitimate

That may seem like a frightening statistic. Aren’t the people that comprise this demographic the leaders of the future? Well, obviously, someday  some of these young people will age into leadership positions as current leaders age out. But that does not mean they will have the same views of the world then as they have now. 

In my view, what this statistic really represents is the function of two disparate segments of American youth.. 

On the one hand young people in one part of that demographic aren’t really paying that much attention to world events. They are instead glued to their screens. The source of their information about world events are at best from questionable news sources. The little attention they might pay to the mainstream media means that all they see is daily reports of the massive carnage taking place in Gaza at the hands of the IDF. That leads them to sympathize with Palestinian calls to ‘Free Palestine from the river to the sea’! They have no clue about context. Or even what that means.

On the other hand the more ‘educated’ part of that demographic inhabits the world of academia. They have had their minds corrupted by the culture of the extreme progressive left whose ethos was demonstrated by the response of the presidents of 3 of the most prestigious universities in America - to a question about whether calls for the genocide of the Jewish people  constituted a violation of their schools’ policy.

It doesn't help matters when accusations that Israel’s actions in Gaza are being called genocide by  prominent public figures - some of which are UN officials.(Big surprise there!)

Nor does it help that the president accused Israel  of ‘indiscriminate’ bombing in Gaza and thereby causing unnecessary Palestinian casualties. That was bolstered by a report that in addition to using ‘smart’ bombs that  are precision guided for more accuracy with less civilian casualties,  they also use ‘dumb’ bombs that are not as accurate and end up killing more civilians. 

Biden has since walked back that comment. And for good reason. By no definition can Israel’s bombing be considered indiscriminate.  PBS (whose reporting has not exactly been fair to Israel) featured an interview with a retired general who is considered an expert on smart bombs versus dumb bombs. He  put to rest the accusation that Israel’s use of dumb bombs resulted in more civilian casualties. (The explanation of which is beyond the scope of this post.) He unequivocally supported Israel’s assertion that they are honoring the rules of war and minimizing civilian casualties as much as possible under the near impossible conditions handed to them by Hamas. 

So despite that seemingly unnerving statistic about the 18 - 24 demographic, I have to believe that if they would be forced to sit down and watch what Hamas did on October 7^th in all its gory detail; become more aware of the violent rape and murder Hamas inflicted onto their captives; what they did to the hostages that have been released; and still doing to those still in captivity - which is apparently even worse than what they did to those that were released, they might come to a different conclusion than they have till now. 

My belief is that the part of that demographic that is focused on screens will not have any real influence on American policy in the future. The half  being influenced by the progressive culture in academia will eventually hit the real world and gain a more even handed perspective on the realities of the Middle East. Resulting in the much more positive view of Israel held by 81% of the American people.