RSS
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.
RSS
Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.