A majority of the nation’s youngest voters see Jewish and White people as “oppressors,” according to a newly released poll that offered a grim forecast on U.S. support for Israel.
An eye-popping 51% of registered voters ages 18-24 believe that the solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict is for Israel to “be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians,” as shown in the results of the monthly Harvard-Harris poll for December.
Generation Z was starkly out of step with the rest of those polled. Overall, only 19% of those surveyed wanted to see Israel ended. A 60% majority favored a two-state solution, while 21% wanted to see the Palestinians absorbed by neighboring Arab states.
The split on Israel between college-age voters and older Americans was pronounced on numerous questions, lending credence to fears that universities have become breeding grounds for the anti-Israel fervor and antisemitism surging on campuses since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.
Harvard-Harris results are worse than you think for 18-24 year olds.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) December 16, 2023
-60% said 10/7 attack can be justified by Palestinian grievances
- 79% support ideology of white ppl as oppressors
- 67% support ideology of Jews as oppressors
Numbers are flipped for every other age group. pic.twitter.com/0hTpxvvnIL
Foreign governments, including those hostile to Israel, have also poured previously unreported billions into U.S. universities from 2014-19, led by Qatar at $2.7 billion, according to a report last month from the Network Contagion Research Institute.
The 18-24 cohort was the only age group that wanted Israel to “cease all hostilities now,” the option favored by 57%. Every other group favored having Israel “keep going until Hamas is defeated and the hostages are released.”
Generation Z voters were split on whether they supported Israel or Hamas at 50% each, in sharp contrast to voters overall who supported Israel by 81% versus 19% for Hamas.
The youngest generation’s support for the recognized foreign terrorist organization came even though 58% agreed that Hamas “would like to commit genocide against the Jews,” a view held by 79% of voters overall.
All age groups agreed that the attack on Israeli civilians that left 1,200 dead was “genocidal in nature” at 73%. Still, those 18-24 were the only contingent who believed that the attack was “justified by the grievances of Palestinians,” a view held by 60% of Generation Z voters versus only 27% of voters overall.
Such views may stem from the younger generation’s view that Jews are “oppressors.” Two-thirds, or 67%, said they believed that “Jews as a class are oppressors and should be treated as oppressors,” in stark contrast to the 73% overall who called that a “false ideology.”
An even larger percentage of those 18-24 believed that “White people are oppressors” and “nonwhite people and people of certain groups have been oppressed,” making them deserving of special treatment. The poll found that 79% of the youngest cohort supported that view, versus 65% who rejected it.
Every age group, including those 18-24, agreed that “identity politics based on race has come to dominate our elite universities,” a view that was supported by 64% of respondents. Majorities of all age groups also agreed that antisemitism is prevalent on university campuses and that Jewish students face harassment.
Voters across the board wanted to see the resignations of university presidents who said calls for the “genocide of Jews” didn’t necessarily violate their conduct codes, including 73% of those 18-24 and 74% of voters overall.
Even so, 53% of Generation Z respondents said that students calling for the “genocide of Jews” should be told they are free to do so, versus 74% of voters overall who said that such students should “face actions for violating university rules.”
The poll’s findings sent off shock waves over the weekend among supporters of Israel. However, George Mason University law school professor Ilya Somin took issue with the wording of some poll questions and pointed to other surveys showing strong support for Israel.
He noted in a post on the Volokh Conspiracy blog that the Harvard-Harris poll also showed that 69% of those 18-24 believe that “Israel has a right to exist.”
The poll by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and Harris Poll was conducted online Dec. 13-14 among 2,034 registered voters.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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