Poll: Majority of U.S. Young People, 18-24, Want Israel to Be Destroyed

A Palestinian supporter stands with others near at the Israeli Consulate where supporters
Craig Ruttle / Associated Press

A majority of registered voters age 18 to 24 in the United States told a Harvard-Harris poll that they want “Israel to be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians,” rather than the two-state solution favored by 60% of Americans overall.

The shocking result, after a survey of 2.034 registered voters December 13-14, suggested that young people are profoundly more hostile to Israel than any other age group — a result that accompanies a wave of antisemitic protests on university campuses and in large cities.

Other results from the poll suggest:

  • 60% of those 18-24 believe that the October 7 terror attack was “justified” by Palestinian grievances (versus 27% overall)
  • 53% of those 18-24 think students should be “free to call for genocide” of Jews (versus 26% overall)
  • 67% of those 18-24 think university presidents “went far enough” in condemning antisemitism (versus 38% overall)
  • 79% of those 18-24 agree “white people are oppressors” and “nonwhite” people should be “favored” (versus 35% overall)
  • 67% of those 18-24 believe Jews belong in the category of “oppressors” (versus 27% overall)
  • 60% of those 18-24 think Israel is trying to commit “genocide” in Gaza (versus 37% overall)
  • 67% of those 18-24 think Hamas “can be negotiated with” (versus 36% overall)
  • 51% of those 18-42 think Israel started the “crisis” (versus 27% overall)

These results among young people are accompanied by other, seemingly contrary results, such as 73% of those 18-24 agreeing that the attack of October 7 was “terrorist,” 66% agreeing that Hamas’s intent was “genocidal,” and 76% agreeing that Hamas “committed rapes and other crimes against women.”

Read the full poll results here.

The only question on which young people seem better informed than older generations is on the level of Palestinian support for Hamas: 64% of those 18-24 think “Hamas is supported by the majority of Palestinians in Gaza” (versus 34% overall). Recent polls of Palestinians suggest broad support for Hamas.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.