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A Hopeful Sign on American Support for Israel
Supporters of Israel gather in solidarity with Israel and protest against antisemitism, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, during a rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC, Nov. 14, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
On February 27, in an apparent rejoinder against US President Joe Biden’s warning about waning support for Israel’s war against Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited a recently released Harvard CAPS-Harris poll that indicated that 82% of Americans support Israel.
This was not the first Harvard CAPS-Harris poll that made the news in Israel.
In December, the Israeli media was abuzz with the news that more than 50% of young Americans (18-24) reportedly believed that Israel should be “ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians.”
While it may seem like these two polls represent a tidal change in American feelings toward Israel over the past two months, an analysis of each Harvard CAPS-Harris poll on Israel and Hamas since October indicates that support for Israel has remained strong among Americans since the October 7 terror attack, and that the negative focus on the war in the media and online has not led to a decrease in backing for Israel’s war against Hamas.
Since the beginning of the war, American support for Israel over Hamas has remained steady at around three-quarters of the population. In October, support for Israel stood at 79%, in November, December, and January, it hovered around 77%, while in February it jumped to 80%.
Surprisingly, among young Americans (18-24), which is traditionally viewed as the population bracket least sympathetic to Israel, support for Israel over Hamas has risen substantially since October, at least according to this poll. Initially, in the wake of the October 7 attack, support for Israel stood at 52%. By February 2024, it had risen to 72%, nearing the national average.
It’s not only in relation to Hamas that Israel garners a substantial amount of American support.
In October, pollsters asked whether the “land on Israel” [sic] was historically the homeland of the Jewish people or the Palestinian people. Roughly three-quarters of respondents held that it was historically the homeland of the Jewish people, including 56% of young Americans.
Similarly, in December 2023, Americans were asked whether “Israel has the right to exist as the homeland of the Jewish people.” The vast majority responded in the affirmative, including 69% of young Americans.
As this was the same poll in which 51% of young Americans said that they preferred that Israel be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians, it is clear that some respondents hold views on Israel that are self-contradictory.
As part of this support for Israel over Hamas, a majority of polled Americans have also voiced support for Israel’s war aims (the return of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas). This support does not seem to have been overly affected by the negative representation of Israel’s war conduct in the media or online.
Between October and December (the last month when this question was asked), approximately 60% of Americans supported Israel continuing to fight in Gaza until the hostages are returned and Hamas’ fighting capability was reduced.
Similarly, over that same time period, roughly 80% of Americans said that Israel has the right to defend itself by launching targeted strikes in heavily populated Palestinian areas with proper warnings.
Surprisingly, the number of young Americans agreeing with this sentiment rose almost 20% during those three months, despite the toll on Palestinian civilians caused by Hamas’ use of human shields.
Despite the large street crowds calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which would ultimately benefit Hamas and weaken Israel’s position, it appears that these loud demonstrations are not representative of the overall American position.
Between December and February, support for an unconditional ceasefire has dropped among Americans, with roughly two-thirds supporting a ceasefire only after Hamas has been removed from power and the hostages freed.
Among young Americans polled in February, 53% support an unconditional surrender, down from 67% in December.
Along with this opposition to an unconditional surrender, a majority of Americans polled in February (including 57% of young Americans) expressed support for Israel continuing its anti-Hamas operations in southern Gaza, despite the effect this might have on the Palestinian civilian population sheltering in that area.
As further proof of how the media’s narrative may not affect Americans’ perceptions of Israel’s war against Hamas, the number of respondents who believed that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza dropped between December and January, despite the focus on South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice during that time.
Even though American support for Israel has remained strong, these polls also indicate that, as Gazan casualties mount (primarily due to Hamas’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure), Israel is receiving more of the blame for civilian casualties and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Nevertheless, the majority of Americans still rightly blame Hamas for these unfortunate consequences of war.
In sum, despite the heavy focus on Israel’s war against Hamas and the media’s negative portrayal of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, these polls indicate that American support for Israel and its war aims has consistently stayed strong over the past five months of hostilities.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post A Hopeful Sign on American Support for Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.