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New data from Pew on the Israel-Palestinian topic
Negative views of Israel have increased, but in a unique way according to demographics. 50% of Republican-leaning Americans under 50yo have a negative view, up from 35% in 2022. For the Dem-leaning in this age bracket, there’s been only a 3% shift toward negative views. For 50yo+ Republicans, negative views have increased by just 3% to sit at 23%; but for Dems in this age bracket, there’s been a 13% increase to 66%. Most of the shift in the public’s dislike of Israel has occurred among younger Republicans and older Democrats. This is interesting data, because there’s been an idea circulating that the shift in public perception of Israel is driven by younger minority progressives. And while that’s a big part, the data really tells us that Americans have changed their view in recent years in ways unaccounted for by demographic change, but which can be explained by the war. Because in just three years, from 2022 to 2025, we’re seeing huge shifts in regards to views on Israel while demographics have only changed slightly.
I think this shift is clear when looking at the media young people consume. Theo Von inconspicuously doing an “early life check” on the Sackler family in his interview with JD Vance; Shane Gillis on KillTony a few days ago; the popular youth streamer “iShowSpeed” refusing to talk to people if they mention they are Israeli. Pro-Israel Americans need a feasible game plan for dealing with this shift which doesn’t fall victim to the Streisand Effect. The current strategy of deporting foreign national students is bad, because the negative publicity far outweighs the tiny changes on university campuses. Zone of Interest came out in 2023, and our media reported on October 7th crimes well enough, yet these clearly didn’t move the needle on public favorability. There doesn’t appear to be any youth figure who can shift perceptions.
Israel is a racial-supremacist national socialist state engaged in ethnic cleansing of a hated neighbor and also but whoops, the incredibly powerful jewish minority that is wildly overrepresented in positions of cultural, financial, and government power in America has been telling us for the last 80 years that all of these things are representative of the worst kind of demonic evil. Don't know how they can possibly hope to account for this issue, every attempt stokes further anger. There are lots of other factors (whoops they're triggering a racial awakening among whites!) but they cannot possibly hope to reconcile their ethnic hypocrisy that used to be hidden but is now very public.
Israel is a racial supremacist national socialist theocratic state, but they are still better than the palestinians. It's not an issue I particularly care about in either direction, but I don't understand people who aren't willing to choose the lesser of two evils. Any reasonable country in Israel's position would react similarly. If a neighboring country sent terrorists into my country, indiscriminately killed 1000 innocent people and took hostages, I would want them flattened. Israel has held back to an impressive degree. I think the fact that these attacks have been a net positive for Palestine's image is very scary. I don't want to see their behavior rewarded.
If Israel were an independent country I'd sort of agree. They're both crap and I don't care if they all kill each other. Israel is the US elite's sugar baby though. So the more often they sabre rattle the more often daddy USA has to spend a few billion of our tax dollars to divert a carrier group to the region to take care of Bibimbo Netanyahoo and save their trade routes or what not.
Israel would not be interested in nuking America and Western Europe even if it had the power to do so with impunity. Hamas absolutely would. That's reason enough to support one over the other even if you take a very negative view of the Israel/US relationship. Better the obnoxious moocher than the psychotic murderer who hates your guts. Like, obviously. It's not even a question.
North Korea has nukes and hasn't used them. Pakistan hasn't used theirs against India. If those two have managed to avoid nuclear war I really don't find the hamas or Iran suicide argument that compelling. Even if they were they'd nuke Israel and get obliterated in return before they went for the US anyways.
You've misread me. I said, if they had the power to nuke America with impunity. This isn't about nukes qua nukes. My point is simpler than that. When Side A ideally wants me to pay all its bills, and Side B ideally wants my entire civilization blown to atoms, I know who I'm siding with. "They're both crap and I don't care if they all kill each other" doesn't cut it, it's apples to oranges. Israel is an ordinary foreign nation acting out of ordinary self-interest, Hamas is representative of a festering ideological blight on humanity.
ah yeah, I didn't realize you were reducing them to black and white. That I don't agree with at all, they both suck.
Not black and white. But black and grey.
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