Pew Research Center
November 27 - December 3, 2023
Methodology
Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand Americans’ views of the current war between Israel and Hamas. For this analysis, they surveyed 5,203 adults from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, 2023. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories.
Key Takeaways
As in other polls, Democrats approve of Biden more than the general public does. This is an important indicator, as Biden is more concerned about approval rates amongst his own obvious and potential supporters than he is about what those who won’t vote for him are feeling. However, the younger generation still pose a real challenge for Biden, as they tend to be more Democrat-leaning, and at the same time much more disapproving of his handling of the war.
An interesting finding for Israel advocacy is that Americans find that the Palestinian people are more responsible for the war than Israeli people. This should be taken into account when creating pro-Israel content: emphasis should be on Palestinians who are supporting Hamas, callingthem out on this. At the same time, highlighting the humanity of Israelis as people who have shared values with Western people can also go a long way. Another equally effective content angle is Gazans who are going against Hamas, because young people view the terrorist organization too positively, so they need to hear complaints against Hamas from the Palestinians themselves.
Young people think Israel is going too far in its war against Hamas. Therefore, it would be advisable to shift the spotlight from what is happening on the battleground to human interest stories relating to how Israelis are rebuilding their society, of course stories about the hostages (those who have returned and those still in captivity), stories of the October 7 victims, the Nova festival, etc.
The Details
1. More Americans disapprove of Biden’s response to the war than approve.
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Just over a third of Americans approve of the response, and 41% disapprove. 24% are unsure. Republicans disapprove more than Democrats, with 44% of Democrats approving, 33% disapproving and 22% unsure.
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The youngest group (18-29) are particularly disapproving, with just 19% approving, 46% disapproving and 34% unsure. Interestingly, almost a third of the next age group (30-49) are unsure whether they stand on this.

2. Far more Americans say Hamas bears a lot of responsibility for the conflict than the Israeli government.
Most Americans (65% ) say Hamas bears “a lot” of the responsibility for the war, as compared to the Israeli government (35%). Looking at the responsibility placed on the Israeli government, combining “a lot” and ”a little”, we see that 59% of Americans think that the Israeli government is responsible, and 74% think that Hamas is responsible.
Other, noteworthy considerations:
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We see also that Americans think the Palestinian people have more responsibility for the war than the Israeli people.
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More detailed results show that Democrats are twice more likely than Republicans to say the Israeli government bears a lot of responsibility.
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Almost half of 18-29 year olds say Hamas has a lot of responsibility, compared with majorities of 60% or more among older age groups.

3. Nearly half of Americans say they are extremely or very concerned about the possibility of increasing violence against Jews in the U.S.
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This concern is bi-partisan and considered the most important issue most Americans worry about in connection with the war. More data uncovers that an additional 31% say they are somewhat concerned about the possibility of increasing violence against Jews as a result of the war, bringing the total amount of concerned about this to 79%.
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We also see that around a third of Democrats and almost half of Republics worry that the war can extend to a terrorist attack in the U.S. Together with respondents who said they are somewhat concerned about this, it’s 74%.

4. A look at the younger age groups uncovers what they really worry about when it comes to the conflict.
Priorities of what 18-29 year olds are concerned about:
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The war going on for a very long time (46%)
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Increasing violence against Muslims in the U.S. (44%)
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Increasing violence against Jews in the U.S. (39%)
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The war expanding to other countries in the region (39%)
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The war leading to a terrorist attack in the U.S. (35%)
Priorities of what 30-49 year olds are concerned about:
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Increasing violence against Jews in the U.S. (42%)
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The war going on for a very long time (41%)
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The war expanding to other countries in the region (38%)
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Increasing violence against Muslims in the U.S. (35%)
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The war leading to a terrorist attack in the U.S. (35%)0% in those who think Israel isn’t taking enough precautions to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.

5. The public is divided in views of Israel’s military operation against Hamas.
Almost a third of Americans are unsure where they stand on this (32%), just over a quarter (27%) say Israel is going too far, another quarter (25%) think Israel is taking the right approach, and 16% say Israel isn’t going far enough.
Other noteworthy considerations:
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45% of Democrats feel Israel is going too far, compared with 12% of Republicans.
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More detailed results show that 18-24 year olds think Israel is going too far in greater numbers than the general public (38%), far less of them say Israel is taking the right approach (14%), only 9% think Israel isn’t going far enough, and almost 39% are unsure.
