Support for Hamas vs Israel among college-age students shows generational divide: Poll

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Mark Penn: There is a generation gap in feelings on the Israel-Hamas war

Former Clinton adviser Mark Penn offers insight into the results of a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll that found a generational gap in support for Israel on 'The Story.'

A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll conducted last week found a majority of American voters side more with Israel than Hamas, but college-age students are narrowing the gap. 

The poll was conducted online Oct. 18 through 19 among 2,116 registered voters and held a margin of error of +/- 2%. 

When voters were asked who they sided with more in the Israel-Hamas conflict, 95% of voters ages 65 and older said Israel, while only 5% said Hamas. 

In the 18-24 age range, 52% said Israel while 48% said Hamas. 

Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023. ((Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images))

The average percentage of support for Israel over Hamas from the 25-64 range was 82%. 

Former Clinton adviser and chairman of the Harris Poll Mark Penn said the "enormous" gap was indicative of a generational divide.

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"When I probed deeper, wow! Are these college-age kids misinformed? Forty-five percent believe, you know, that Israel bombed the hospital. Most believe Iran is not behind everything," he said Tuesday on "The Story." "They are in another world when it comes to information far removed from reality." 

Penn said college students "don’t even know what they’re saying" when they chant "from the river to the sea" because it means the annihilation of the Jewish state. 

Jewish counter protesters shout and waves signs at students from Brooklyn College during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the entrance of the campus. ((Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images))

"When they say, 'from the river to the sea,' they're talking about the annihilation of the Jewish state, you know, of 9 million people, something most of them don't even support when you ask them in the poll," he told anchor Martha MacCallum. "But they're out there chanting things that they don't understand. It’s an enormous disconnect because the information base, as you say, do they really understand the Holocaust? Do they understand what happened in World War II? Do they understand how Israel was formed and what the Jewish people are and how it is their homeland?"

"No, it doesn't appear that they have the basic facts compared to the older generation. The younger generation, remember, didn't even live through 9/11. They don't even have a basic understanding of terrorism and how it has affected us here let alone those in Israel," he continued.  

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Fifty-two percent of college-age students said Israel was not justified in eliminating Hamas in Gaza after it launched a terrorist attack on Oct. 7 that killed an estimated 1,400 people, while 48% said Israel is justified. 

A majority of American voters believe Israel is justified in eliminating Hamas.  ((Harvard CAPS/Harris))

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The poll also found a majority of voters believe the long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is a two-state solution.

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