Division in American opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict
Division in American opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict
By John Devereaux
JRN 100 Staff Reporter
The most recent chapter of the Israel-Palestine conflict has highlighted the differences in opinions between generations, as is evident from the Pew Research Center study entitled Americans’ Views of the Israel-Hamas War, published in December 2023. This generational divide is accompanied by disagreements in the Jewish community, and political impact in the upcoming American election.
For context, on October 7th, 2023, a number of fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas crossed the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to carry out an attack. They remained in the country for several days, and when they were repelled, the death count stood at 1,139 people, the majority of which were civilians, and 248 hostages were taken, stated the Israeli authorities. In the months since the attack, Israel has carried out strikes with both air and land power, systematically pushing the population of Gaza south. The current death count within Gaza stands at 34,097, with more than 75,000 injured and thousands missing, reported Al-Jazeera.
Many different western powers, including the United States, support Israel, both in terms of funding and political messaging, and this issue is on the mind of the populous. Anwar Mhajne, professor of political science at Stonehill College, has followed this conflict closely. She is a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship who grew up in the region, so there is a personal connection as well. She spoke on the subject of the mobilization of the youth on the matter.
“You see more young people vocal and active about it across ethnic and religious lines. It’s not just for one group, it’s the whole age group, especially Gen Z. But we noticed it before also amongst millennials,” she said.
The study from Pew Research Center supports Mhajne’s claim.
“Younger Americans are more likely than older adults to say that Israel’s current military operation against Hamas is going too far: 38% of adults under 35 say this, compared with smaller shares of those 35 to 49 (27%), 50 to 64 (23%) and 65 and older (16%),” the article said.
One such young American is Stonehill College student Alex Trantos. She is a political science major of the class of 2025 who has been following the escalation of the conflict since October 7th. As a member of the youth focused on this issue, Trantos has an important perspective on where the attitude shift in the younger generations comes from.
“I think that social media really played a big role for me. This was the first time I saw something so vivid. I was able to scroll through TikTok and see actual videos on the ground of people who had just left their homes, that were just bombed. There was footage of people actually fleeing from the north of Gaza to the south of Gaza, so just seeing that in real time really affected me,” said Trantos.
It is clear that the aspect of visibility in this era of war plays a key role. Many people of all generations, but particularly the younger ones, are often on their phones on various applications, and now those applications can show them news that would not have seen before and would not have been able to see as fast previously. There is good reason beyond social media for why older generations are less likely to go against Israel.
“Biden’s generation, they knew Israel at a different time than Americans know Israel right now. Now it’s a strong state that’s occupying, allowing settlement expansion, there’s no accountability in a lot of cases, censorship, et cetera,” said Mhajne.
Israel was formed from a minority Jewish population inside of Palestine 75 years ago, and it did not become the power it is over night. Despite the changes the country has gone through over time, many people in older generations still see Israel as a small nation surrounded by enemies. But there is evidence to the contrary which is readily available online.
“People are able to see the videos and the news directly,” said Mhajne, “Also, Palestinian activists have been active in spreading the news about what’s happening on the ground and building networks and connecting with other activists.”
These activist groups that have formed online have created connections that span outside of generational movements. One of the most important ones, due to the religious background of this conflict, are the Jewish groups calling for Palestinian liberation, such as Jewish Voice for Peace.
“There’s a movement amongst the Jewish community, the American Jewish community, where there’s a shift as well in the young population who are vocally against the occupation, vocally against what’s happening in the West Bank and Gaza, before October 7th and after October 7th,” said Mhajne.
Groups like that make it clear that this is not an inherently religious issue, or at least not one that forces a binary between two sides. There are many in the American Jewish community that are upset by the way that Israel has handled the aftermath of the attacks and are demanding a ceasefire. This has led American policy makers to think hard about this upcoming election.
“When it comes to Congress, I know there’s still an opposition, still support for Israel, but we see more critical voices,” said Mhajne.
The standard opinion had been for both parties to support Israel, and it is fair to say that is still the case, but people who pay attention to the issue are seeing wavering. It is beginning to affect the youth vote as well.
“I’ve always seen myself as a democrat, but now I’m questioning that identity. Because there are so many democrats that are brought into office by AIPAC and seeing just how corrupt AIPAC really is, I’m very much questioning being a democrat. I’m definitely moving more towards the socialism and liberation party,” said Trantos.
This new chapter of the Israel-Palestine conflict is making people across the country reconsider their stances, leading to an effect on American politics.
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