By Simon Kent
(April 30, 2024 / Breitbart) Americans overwhelmingly support Israel in its war against the Hamas terrorist group by a margin of four-to-one despite pro-Palestinian protests roiling streets and campuses across the country, a poll released Tuesday reveals.
The Harvard CAPS-Harris survey shared with The Hill found 80 percent of registered voters back Israel more in the conflict while just 20 percent say they support Hamas more.
Voter disparity is most evident among age groups with older voters more likely to be supportive of Israel than younger Americans.
The poll findings are virtually unmoved from what they were last month when 79 percent said they support Israel more despite the increasing number of anti-Israel protests.
Support for Israel was the lowest among the youngest age groups. Pollsters found 64 percent of those 25 to 34 and 57 percent of those 18 to 24 said they support Israel more, while the rest of those age groups said they support Hamas more.
Meanwhile, 72 percent of voters say they back an Israel Defense Forces military operation in Rafah to “finish the war,” with 28 percent saying Israel should “back off now and allow Hamas to continue running Gaza.”
The results bookend weeks of pro-Palestinian protests engulfing college campuses across the country with students setting up protest encampments.
Schools such as Columbia and New York University, University of Pennsylvania, Virginia Tech, and University of Georgia, have all been impacted, as Breitbart News reported.
In many of the cases, students have demanded learning institutions divest from Israel-linked companies protesters allege are profiting off the war in Gaza.
Protesters are increasingly being met with police arrests and threatened suspensions.
Mark Penn, the co-director of the poll, told The Hill support for Israel “has not budged” despite the “campus unrest.”
He said the student protests appear out of step with broader public attitudes on Israel and noted that the poll showed Americans largely want a ceasefire in the war.
The ceasefire sentiment is only supported by Americans on the condition Hamas terrorists are removed from power and the hostages they seized during the Oct. 7 raid on Israel are returned, Penn made clear.
This article was originally published in Breitbart and can be viewed here.