U.S. Public Opinion on the Israel-Hamas Conflict Has Little to Do with the Conflict Itself

The latest fighting between Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza has now gone on for almost a month. In contrast to public opinion in much of the rest of the world, yet consistent with past outbreaks of Palestinian-Israeli violence, the American public consistently supports the Israeli government’s policies. …

It is tempting to assume that the American public reacts to the facts on the ground, the specific policies pursued by the two sides, or the complicated series of events that led to the current conflict. But I think this is misguided. There are three things that are essential for understanding these poll results, none of which have anything to do with the details of the current tragic conflict. CONT.

Jonathan Ladd (Georgetown), The Mischiefs of Faction

Recent polls: Israel and the Palestinians

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.