New York: A survey conducted by Israel’s Ministry of Justice has shocked the Netanyahu government as it found that disapproval of Israeli policies is growing among American Jewish teenagers over the Gaza war. Many of the new generation of Jewish believers responded to the survey by criticizing the massacre in Gaza and expressing sympathy for Hamas.
The findings were revealed in a survey on Jewish teenagers in various countries conducted by the Israeli government's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism in collaboration with Mosaic United. According to the report, Jewish teenagers in the United States hold more critical views of Israel and express more sympathy for Hamas than their peers in other countries.
As per the survey results, 37 per cent of American Jewish teenagers sympathize with Hamas, reported the Israeli media outlet ‘Jerusalem Post’. When 60 per cent of 14-year-olds sympathize with Hamas in the US, only seven per cent of Jewish teenagers globally do so.
The survey found that 42% of US Jewish teens believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, but only nine per cent of Jewish teens believe so internationally. The report said that the rise in opposition to Israel among American Jewish teens is influenced by different cultural, social and educational circumstances, and that is worrying.
Even among those with a strong Jewish educational background, 6% sympathize with Hamas. Meanwhile, the report says that Jewish teenagers abroad who attend Jewish camps, day schools, or supplementary schools and have personal contact with Israelis are relatively less likely to hold anti-Israel views. The survey also points out that there is a link between Jewish educational involvement and attitudes toward Israel.
Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism minister Amichai Chikli called for greater focus on Jewish youth in the US. He said that it is important to strengthen the ties between Jewish teens in the diaspora and in Israel. They are pleased that 94% of Jewish teens in other countries have ties to his country. However, these findings show that Israel must continue to educate and support Jewish youth globally, the minister said.