THE HILL
by Niall Stanage
August 9, 2014
Young Americans are showing far less fervent support for Israel than older generations, but almost no-one can agree on why the change is happening, how permanent it is likely to be, or what it all means. Observers offer a laundry list of possibilities.
They say millennials are more likely than their elders to be liberal and Israel’s actions — particularly in the current offensive in Gaza — increasingly meet with vigorous criticism in left-of-center circles. Millennials are also much more avid consumers of social media, on which different narratives explaining the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians are more readily available — as are especially gruesome images of the human toll extracted by Israeli missile strikes.
These young people also don’t have the same memories as their parents. Many older Americans can still recall the Six-Day War in 1967 or the Yom Kippur War in 1973, during which Israel’s very existence seemed to be threatened by its Arab neighbors. By contrast, “young Americans have grown up with Israel as an incredible superpower in the region, and with occupation and intifada,” said Ira Stup of J Street, the liberal-leaning pro-Israel lobby group. “Young Americans often have a vision of Israel vis-a-vis Palestine that is more in line with what is going on now.”
There is no mistaking the depth of the generational split. Late last month, Gallup asked Americans whether Israel’s recent actions against Hamas were justified or unjustified. Those who were 65 or older backed Israel by a wide margin: 55 percent to 31 percent. But those aged between 18 and 29, said by more than a two-to-one margin — 51 percent to 25 percent — that Israel’s actions were unjustified.
Another survey conducted by Pew around the same time asked whether Israel or Hamas bore the greater responsibility for the current violence. Respondents across the board placed more of the culpability around Hamas’ shoulders — with the exception of the young. Overall, 40 percent blamed the Islamic group compared to 19 percent who blamed Israel. Among those over 65 years old, more than three times as many blamed Hamas (53 percent) as Israel (15 percent). Yet among those aged 18-29, 29 percent blamed Israel and only 21 percent blamed Hamas…..
ArchitectGuy on Israel 