More than 80% of Americans say they side with Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war, according to a new poll.
The survey, done by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and Harris Poll, found that 84% of those surveyed sided with Israel, compared with the 16% who sided with Hamas.
The survey also showed that older generations seemed to side more with Israel than the younger respondents. In the poll, 52% of those 18 to 24 said they sided more with Israel, while 48% said they sided with Hamas. But 95% of those 65 and older said they sided with Israel, while 5% sided with Hamas.
Similarly, 76% said that the Hamas killing of more than 1,200 Israeli civilians could not be justified by the grievances of Palestinians. However,51% of those aged 18-to-24 thought the Hamas killing of civilians could be justified, while 49% said they were not justified. Among respondents 65 or older, 9% thought the killings could be justified, and 91% thought they could not be justified.
Roughly 3 in 5 voters say the U.S. has a responsibility to militarily support Israel and act against Hamas. According to the poll, 64% said the country has a responsibility, while 36% said it does not.
When asked if the U.S. has a responsibility to act against Hamas given that more than 20 Americans were killed in the attacks by the terrorist organization, or if it should stay out of a potential Middle East conflict, 60% said that the country has a responsibility, and 40% said the U.S. should stay out.
The majority of respondents, 59%, think the U.S. should directly intervene if Iran attacks Israel, while 41% do not. Younger people are less inclined to think the U.S. should get involved, with 40% of 18-to-24-year-olds saying yes while 64% of 65 and up say yes.
More than half of those polled, 58%, said that college students who blamed Israel for the Hamas attacks were condoning violence and terrorism, and 42% said they were not supporting those actions. However, 55% said that law firms should still hire law students who supported Hamas and the attacks on Israeli civilians, while 45% said employees should refuse to hire them.
The survey was conducted online between Oct.18 and 19 with 2,116 registered voters. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 2%.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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