U.S. Student Opinion Toward Israel
(2023 - Present)
Note: We are presenting raw data. When available, we provide some or all of the crosstabs (i.e., breakdowns by various categories such as party ID). To analyze the data, we encourage users to read the entire study and the methodology used. Sample size, question wording, and question order can affect results and reliability. Context and timing may also influence responses, for example, if the survey is conducted during a war.
Attitudes toward Jews and Israel (Brandeis, August 2024)
|
Non-Jews |
|
|
Not hostile toward Jews or Israel |
66% |
| Hostile to Israel, Not Hostile to Jews | 15% |
| Hostile to Jews, Less Hostile to Israel | 11% |
| Extremely Hostile to Jews and Israel | 2% |
Posting on social media and attending events related to the Israel-Hamas war. (Brandeis, August 2024)
|
All Students |
|
|
Attended event expressing support for Israel |
9% |
| Posted on social media expressing support for Israel | 9% |
| Attended event expressing support for Palestinians in Gaza | 17% |
| Posted on social media expressing support for Palestinians in Gaza | 23% |
Attitudes toward Jews and Israel [% agree] (Brandeis, August 2024)
|
Students hostile toward Israel |
Hostile toward Jews |
Not hostile toward Jews or Israel (66% of total) |
Jewish Students | All Students | |
|
Jews in America have too much power |
2% |
65% | |||
| Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind |
2% |
67% | |||
| Jewish people talk about the Holocaust just to further their political agenda | 11% | 68% | |||
| Jews should be held accountable for Israel’s actions | 4% | 39% | |||
|
Israel does not have the right to exist |
70% | 3% | |||
|
All Israeli civilians should be considered legitimate targets for Hamas |
6% | 24% | |||
|
View Hamas favorably |
23% | 26% | |||
| View Israeli government favorably | 3% | 26% | 21% | 49% | 24% |
| View Israeli people favorably | 39% | 42% | 71% | 90% | 63% |
|
Supporters of Israel control the media |
89% | 70% | |||
|
I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone who supports the existence of Israel as a Jewish state |
83% | 35% | |||
| All land seized through colonization should be returned to indigenous peoples | 75% | 53% | 37% | 26% | 43% |
Is there a hostile environment toward Jews? (Brandeis, August 2024)
|
Students hostile toward Israel |
Hostile toward Jews |
|
| Agree
|
2% |
65% |
| Disagree |
2% |
67% |
Is your campus environment hostile to Jews? (Brandeis, August 2024)
|
Jews |
non-Jews |
|
| Agree
|
60% |
33% |
| Disagree |
40% |
67% |
Is your campus environment hostile to Israel? (Brandeis, August 2024)
|
Jews |
non-Jews |
|
| Agree
|
82% |
56% |
| Disagree |
19% |
45% |
Overall, how would you rate Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership of Israel. (Jim Joseph Foundation, April 28-June 26, 2024)
| Poor |
43% |
| FIR |
18% |
| Good | 15% |
| Excellent | 4% |
| DK | 21% |
In the 2024 Presidential election, if the Democratic nominee is Joe Biden and the Republican nominee is Donald Trump, who would you vote for? (Jim Joseph Foundation, April 28-June 26, 2024)
| Biden |
53% |
| Trump |
17% |
| Third Party Candidate | 10% |
| Abstain | 5% |
| DK | 15% |
In the current conflict, are your sympathies more with the Israeli people or more with the Palestinian people? (Jim Joseph Foundation, April 28-June 26, 2024)
|
2023 |
2024 |
|
|
More Israeli |
45% |
35% |
| Both Equal |
28% |
29% |
| More Palestinians | 22% | 29% |
Thinking about students on your campus broadly, do you think their sympathies are more with the Israeli people or more with the Palestinian people? (Jim Joseph Foundation, April 28-June 26, 2024)
|
2023 |
2024 |
|
|
Sympathy with Israel |
12% |
7% |
| Both/no opinion |
29% |
26% |
| Sympathy with Palestinians | 59% | 67% |
My views about Israel are generally in line with the views of most of my college friends. (Jim Joseph Foundation, April 28-June 26, 2024)
|
Non-Jewish |
Jewish |
|
|
Friends unaligned |
13% |
19% |
| Neither |
40% |
30% |
| Friends aligned | 47% | 51% |
Which of these statements comes closest to your views about the Jewish community on campus? (Jim Joseph Foundation, April 28-June 26, 2024)
| 2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
|
Too supportive of Israel |
15% |
23% |
21% |
| About right | 28% |
29% |
36% |
| Not supportive of Israel enough | 15% | 20% | 17% |
| DK | 43% | 19% | 26% |
How do you feel about the tent encampments that have materialized across college campuses, which seek to boycott and protest against Israel? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Support them |
45% |
| Neutral |
30% |
| Oppose them | 24% |
Which issues are the most important to you? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Healthcare Reform |
40% |
| Education Funding and Access |
38% |
| Economic Fairness and Opportunity | 37% |
| Racial Justice and Civil Rights | 36% |
| Climate Change | 35% |
| The Conflict in the Middle East | 13% |
To what extent do you agree with the following statements? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free
| Agree |
41% |
| Neither Agree Nor Disagree |
44% |
| Disagree | 14% |
There is only one solution, intifada revolution
| Agree |
14% |
| Neither Agree Nor Disagree |
62% |
| Disagree | 25% |
Free, free Palestine
| Agree |
52% |
| Neither Agree Nor Disagree |
37% |
| Disagree | 11% |
[Among those who agree or strongly agree to any statements above] Who do you think is preventing Palestinians from being free? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Hamas |
15% |
| Israel |
63% |
| Palestinian Authority | 5% |
| The U.S. | 11% |
| Other Middle Eastern governments | 6% |
[Among those who agree/strongly agree with From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free
] Which of the following rivers and seas does the statement refer to? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Jordan River |
70% |
| Nile River |
11% |
| Euphrates River | 8% |
| Tigris River | 5% |
| Litani River | 6% |
| Mediterranean Sea | 65% |
| Red Sea | 15% |
| Dead Sea | 8% |
| Arabian Sea | 8% |
| Adriatic Sea | 3% |
Do you think Israel has a right to exist? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
|
83% |
|
| No |
17% |
Do you think your college should boycott, divest, and sanction any investment or partnerships with companies and groups based in Israel? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Yes |
46% |
| No |
54% |
Based on what you know: who do you think is more to blame for the current situation in Gaza? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Hamas leaders |
34% |
| Benjamin Netanyahu | 19% |
| Israeli people |
12% |
| Palestinian people | 3% |
| President Biden | 12% |
| Jewish people across the globe | 1% |
| Someone else | 19% |
Have you participated in any of the protests among your friends and peers? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Yes - I’ve participated in the Pro-Israel protests |
1% |
| Yes - I’ve participated in the protests against Israeli action in Gaza. | 7% |
| No, but I favor the Pro-Israel protests |
9% |
| No, but I favor protests against Israeli action in Gaza. | 34% |
| None of the above | 50% |
[Among those who participate/support Pro-Israel protests] Would you still consider being friends with someone who has marched against Israel? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Yes |
64% |
| No |
36% |
[Among those who participate/favor protests against Israel] Would you still consider being friends with someone who has marched for Israel? (generation lab, May 3-6, 2024)
| Yes |
42% |
| No |
58% |
How knowledgeable are you about the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Extremely |
5% |
| Very |
15% |
| Somewhat | 54% |
| Not very | 22% |
| Not knowledgeable at all | 4% |
How knowledgeable are you about the Israel-Gaza war? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Extremely |
7% |
| Very |
19% |
| Somewhat | 48% |
| Not very | 23% |
| Not knowledgeable at all | 4% |
In what ways, if any, have you learned about these issues? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Social media |
86% |
| Books |
6% |
| Podcasts | 17% |
| Lectures | 16% |
| News articles | 62% |
| Televised news | 56% |
| Talking directly to others | 58% |
| I have not learned about these issues | 2% |
How much of an opinion, if any, do you have about the Israel-Gaza war? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Extremely strong opinion |
9% |
| Strong opinion |
28% |
| A little bit of an opinion | 40% |
| Not much of an opinion | 17% |
| No opinion | 6% |
How much of an opinion, if any, do you have about the Israel-Palestine conflict as a whole? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Extremely strong opinion |
11% |
| Strong opinion |
32% |
| A little bit of an opinion | 36% |
| Not much of an opinion | 16% |
| No opinion | 5% |
How much do you sympathize with Israeli civilians? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| A lot |
49% |
| A little |
23% |
| Not much | 9% |
| Not at all | 4% |
| Not sure | 16% |
\How much do you sympathize with Palestinian civilians? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| A lot |
65% |
| A little |
17% |
| Not much | 3% |
| Not at all | 2% |
| Not sure | 13% |
How much pressure do you feel to speak out about these issues? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| A lot |
27% |
| Some |
33% |
| A little | 27% |
| Not much | 28% |
At this moment, how willing are you to voice your opinion about these issues? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Willing |
32% |
| Somewhat willing |
40% |
| Unwilling | 29% |
How worried are you about potential consequences of speaking out about these issues? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Worried |
34% |
| A little bit worried |
37% |
| Not worried | 30% |
What potential consequences are you worried about? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Losing job prospects |
33% |
| Losing friends |
44% |
| Losing social media followers | 12% |
| Being “canceled” | 42% |
| Verbal assaults | 62% |
| Physical assaults | 37% |
Since October 7th, have you made a public statement related to these issues? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Yes |
14% |
| No |
86% |
October 7, 2023, was the date when Hamas infiltrated Israel and massacred 1,200 people.
Since October 7th, have you participated in any protests or rallies related to these issues? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Yes |
10% |
| No |
90% |
Since October 7th, do you feel more or less safe on campus? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Safer |
8% |
| No change |
73% |
| Less safe | 19% |
Since October 7th, has your mental health improved or worsened? (Pollfish for Intelligence.com, October 27-31, 2023)
| Improved |
11% |
| No change |
58% |
| Worsened | 32% |
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