2 June 2021
Demonstrators march for Palestinian rights, near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, 29 May.
TASS
Support for Israel continues to fall among key segments of the American population, another poll confirms.
The Harvard-Harris survey of some 1,900 registered voters was taken on 19-20 May, before a ceasefire took effect in Gaza following 11 days of intense Israeli bombardment.
Respondents were asked, “Who do you think is more responsible for the violence in the Mideast — Israel or Hamas?”
Overall, 60 percent blamed Hamas and 40 percent blamed Israel.
Although more than half blame Hamas, it is remarkable that two in five say Israel is more responsible.
But when it comes to those aged 18-34, it flips around completely: 60 percent blame Israel, and just 40 percent blame Hamas.
Among Black Americans, 62 percent hold Israel more responsible, as do 55 percent of those described by pollsters as Hispanic.
A majority of Democrats – 52 percent – also holds Israel more responsible.
So who blames Hamas?In short, older, whiter and more right-wing Americans. Among those aged 50 and up, more than 70 percent blame Hamas, as do 67 percent of white voters and 72 percent of Republicans.
This survey corroborates the findings from a Morning Consult poll also taken during the attack on Gaza.
That poll found that Israel failed to win the sympathy of most Americans during the attack. In only one demographic group – Republicans – did Israel manage to eke out a narrow majority in support.
Among Democrats and young voters, more people stood with Palestinians than with Israelis.
Israel losing its grip
Kyle Kulinski, the influential left-wing commentator and a founder of the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats, notes that the question in the Harvard-Harris poll was biased in a way that likely skewed the results even more in Israel’s favor.As noted, 60 percent of respondents overall blamed Hamas more, while 40 percent blamed Israel more.
In the video above, Kulinski observes that if the question had been about Israel versus Palestinians, instead of Israel versus Hamas, that may have shifted.
“My guess is if you change Hamas to just Palestinians, maybe that becomes like 50-50,” Kulinski says.
“The propaganda is not working anymore,” Kulinski observes.
“When your grip on the narrative is slipping this much, even with endless propaganda on your side, it’s not going to be much longer until this really is like 60 percent pro-Palestinian, 40 percent pro-Israel.”
“People are seeing what’s happening. They see who the occupying power is,” Kulinski says.
“Israel is not interested in peace, They’re not interested in a two-state solution. They’re not interested in a democratic one-state solution.”
“The rest of the world sees through it and the younger people in America see through it,” Kulinski states. “The only people who don’t see through it are the entire US establishment and the older folks in America.”
Comments
Polls
Permalink Frank Dallas replied on
What people are grasping is Israel's crying wolf about anti-Semitism. They can make the distinction between Jewry and Israel. People understand that what is crumbling is not Jewry but Israel. People with no prejudice against Jews whatsoever find themselves called racists because they think the illegal occupation of the WB, the siege of Gaza, the routine humiliation of Palestinians are wrong. The propaganda has failed because of it's exorbitance. By embracing the Perlmutter version of anti-Semitism ie that whatever does not further the interests of Israel is anti-Semitic, the pro-Israeli lobby has made itself ridiculous. Everyone can make the distinction. Everyone knows Israel is in breach of international law. Everyone can see Israel is an apartheid State. When you tell the entire world it is anti-Semitic because it requires Israel to abide by the law, your case is doomed. The polls reveal how the propaganda worked half a century ago. The older folk swallowed it because it was difficult in their younger days to hear the counter arguments; but the young have read Chomsky and listened to Pappe and Finkelstein and they have social media and access to reliable information about the history of Israel/Palestine. Demography is against the Israeli lobby in every respect. The irony is that the leaders of Israel have a simple way to secure their future: pull back behind the 4th June 1967 borders and accept an independent Palestinian society; they won't take it because of their purblind belief in their own propaganda. Just as revolutions devour their own offspring, the followers of Herzl will destroy their own project by over-zealousness. And when they have lost the land they were given, they will blame everyone but themselves. Without the US, Israel is nothing and the US is swinging away abruptly from support for Israeli oppression. Can't they see the writing on the wall. Time is against them and they are too fanatical to change.
a false antithesis
Permalink tom hall replied on
Ali's right. Had the question been put in this form- Hamas or Likud?- the outcome would have shifted away from the Israeli position. Likewise, a choice between Palestinians or Israelis would have yielded a similar result. The polling company did its best, but as in all fields of discourse now, it's becoming impossible for ordinary sentient Americans to go on supporting Apartheid.