To think that this really can't be true about young people's thoughts about Israel?

[Another2Cats]

So, I just read an article where they say they have done a poll of young people and, of those under 25, 54% said that they agree with the statement "the state of Israel should not exist". Just 21% disagreed.

Did the polling company manage to just randomly pick a bunch of people that feel this way, or is this genuinely how many young people feel?

IABU to think that this can't really be true? (I am quite prepared to accept that IABU and that this really is what a majority of young people believe)

The link is here:

https://unherd.com/newsroom/majority-of-young-britons-think-israel-should-not-exist/

and this is the text of the article:

A majority of Britain’s young people do not believe Israel should exist, a new UnHerd poll has revealed.

A preliminary finding of an exclusive survey of 1,012 voters about foreign policy, conducted by Focaldata and due to be released tomorrow on UnHerd, found that a striking 54% of 18-24-year-olds agreed with the statement that “the state of Israel should not exist.” Just 21% disagreed.

This finding dovetails with other UnHerd polling on the same issue. In a separate question, young respondents were asked who was more to blame for the war in Gaza. Half blamed the Israeli government, while a quarter answered Hamas. Only 19% responded “all equally”.

The war’s high degree of exposure online and on social media appears to have fuelled interest among Britain’s young. An AI-generated “all eyes on Rafah” graphic was shared more than 44 million times on Instagram recently, with pro-Palestine content also proliferating on TikTok. Critics have argued that the Chinese social media platform has deliberately promoted anti-Israel content, which TikTok has denied, citing the existing attitudes of its young user base.

These attitudes are reflected in further UnHerd polling, which asked young Britons about their level of interest in wars around the world. It found that Britons aged 18-24 are far more interested in the war in Gaza than they are in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or in US-China tensions. Among this group, 38% were very interested in Gaza and 28% were somewhat interested, compared with 19% and 44% who were very or somewhat interested in the war in Ukraine, respectively.

As the Israeli war enters its eighth month, public opinion has slowly shifted in Palestine’s favour. Historic polling shows that popular support for Israel was at its highest shortly after the 7 October attacks at 21%, but this figure has since fallen. Although young people were most sceptical of Israel before the attack, the overall level of support for the Jewish state over the same time frame has plummeted to 16%, according to YouGov figures.

As of this week, a new ceasefire proposal is on the table, and the US is pushing Israel to accept it. The deal would involve the exchange of prisoners for hostages and would pave the way for negotiations. A ceasefire has strong majority support in the UK.

They are actually taught an awful lot about the conflict. Both of mine studied it in depth. They held their own in a very heated debate with us (adults and lawyers). It’s a whole module in the gcse syllabus, not just a couple of lessons.

I don’t think you can dismiss young people as knowing nothing or as just being brainwashed into being anti semitic. Certainly both of my children view the Israelis as the oppressors and held this view prior to October. We are not religious but my mother was Jewish so it really isn’t just about racism.

It is a conflict in an area of the world most of them know absolutely nothing about apart from having had a few GCSE history lessons (possibly) seen prejudiced reporting, emotive footage and a huge wave of anti-semitic rhetoric by muslims and activists (exactly what you'd expect). They all love a protest and an opportunity to get out there shouting and indulging in a bit of social disorder about the current 'cool' issue. In 10-15 years time they'll have gone back to the suburbs, have jobs, be settling down and be living lives where protests about the middle-east are for younger people.

I find this so insulting and dismissive of young people at universities across the world. I think there are 90 encampments- from the USA to Japan. Did you stop to think for a moment that they might understand something you don't? Cos you're the one who sounds like Thatcher in the 1980s. Do you remember? She and Reagan would say with absolute conviction- the way to bring South Africa into the modern world is not sanctions but helping them to help their black population develop and learn etc.

PM of Israel, Benzion Mileikowsky, now known as Benjamin Netanyahu, born in Warsaw - but apparently he has more right to the land in Middle East than those who have lived there for over 2000s+ years.

People are complaining about how Israel was created as a reason for it not to exist today

Yet the same argument isn't being applied to other countries that were created with death and mass migration at around the same time.

There are many countries in the world that are committing atrocities. That have committed atrocities. There aren't people marching on the streets of London calling for them to be wiped off the map,

I in no way support Israel's actions in Gaza which are horrendous but it is extremely naive to think that young people aren't walking into this incredibly complex situation in the Middle East only informed by Israel's actions in Gaza to be welcomed by people with a ready made narrative and set of slogans and opinions who want Israel wiped off the map and have always wanted Israel wiped off the map because they hate the Jews.

It is entirely unsurprising to see these young people come to the conclusion that Israel should be wiped off the map when other peace protests have called for regime change not for the country to disappear.

Interestingly my eldest child is studying history and international relations at university. They are not allowed to discuss the Israel Palestine conflict at all. It’s too much of a political hot potato which is frankly ridiculous.

They're allowed to debate Russia/Ukraine all they like (since most are agreed on who are the “Goodies” and who are the “Baddies” in that one.

My 20 year old son also

There was definitely a fair bit of cleansing going on at the time.

This is absolutely true but again you are making false analogies. Pakistani army committed war crimes against Bangladeshi population during the war. This is undisputed. That was a war between two armies where war crimes occurred. I fail to see how it relates to Israel. The concept of Israel is a supremacist one. That is not true of Bangladesh nor Pakistan.

Okay I'll try and be brief and explain to you, and others who have quoted my post, and trying to make this about other counties. The difference between Pak/Ind, or any other conflict in the world, isn't that it wasn't violent. All wars/land issues are violent and sadly people die etc. The difference in Pak/Ind situation, that posters are so keen to highlight to Justify the existence of Israel is that, Muslims/Hindus fought for their separate state on their own land, whereas in Israels case, it actually didn't exist at all, not for atleast 3000+ years - until about 1948, when folks from Europe/US, arrived and basically carved out a state from a land where Palestinains lived for over 2000+ yrs. Do you see the difference? I imagine you do, along with others who quoted my post, but will not admit to it. I have basically stated facts.

Well we'll see where these young people stand in 10-15 years time. It won't be chanting 'From the river to the sea....' Most have no idea which river or sea it refers to or what the message means.

People are not complaining that how Israel was created means it should not exist.
This is a misreading. Many nations are born of blood and war. That is not the offence.
People are complaining that Israel was created to advantage one group of people from all over the world whilst simultaneously disadvantaging the people who were indigenous to that land. That is a colonial enterprise. There is the offence.
Also it's not that the nation should be wiped off the planet- what the students want is the colonial nature of the nation to be reversed. Simply stop giving a right of return to one group and not another group. That's what it means to say Israel should no longer exist given that's what it was created to do.

I mean, he was born in Tel Aviv. Where does he have a right to live?

There were Jews in Israel before 1948. Maybe you could look into this whole fabulous GCSE subject I'm hearing so much about? Apparently it will provide you with all the facts.

@LuluBlakey1

There you go again. I really wouldn't comment on the intelligence of others when you make such poor and fallacious points.

We talked about it a bit at the time but I don't think he connected it to what he's seeing on social media now, because the people on social media definitely aren't connecting them.

He doesn't use TikTok or twitter or snapchat or the like so he hasn't seen much about it.

What came first, the temple or the mosque?

He was born in Tel Aviv- his father was born in Warsaw.

No, it's you who needs a history lesson. There were Jews all over the world prior to 1948, and even today. What is your point? The fact remains there was no State of Israel prior to 1948 - you know there is a profound difference between the two.

Do you think that Israel is 'folks from Europe/US'?

And while Muslims/Hindus 'fought for their separate state', Israel came about for no reason?

I think this would be a good start, don't you? Absolute twaddle, every word of it.

"Whereas, in Israel's situation, almost all of then moved over from Europe/USA/Russia etc after WW2. Majority of their DNA is that of Europeans"

I'm 39 and we covered the establishment of Israel in GCSE history. I don't remember much of the detail but I definitely came away thinking that Israel took people's land.

We did loads on the Nazis and the Holocaust but somehow it didn't really stick as to why Jews needed their own country. Not sure if that's down to my teacher or the syllabus. It's such a complex history though I'm not sure it's possible to adequately cover it as a portion of a GCSE syllabus.

Posters here denying the very basic facts of creation of Israel..find a single world map, dating pre 1948 that shows state of Israel. It didn't exist. And it remains a fact that after the events of WW2 - it was created.

@StarbucksSmarterSister Yes. And then I saw she used the phrase "crying antisemitism", which tells me enough to know that engaging with an antisemite (because anyone that uses that phrase absolute is one) is going to be futile.

There was also no state of Palestine - What's your point? That some indigenous people should have more right to the land than others because you've said so?

There’s a lot in between “lying down and taking attacks” and “murdering tens of thousands of innocent people, like you and I.

Our government (in our lifetimes) have committed some atrocities abroad, would you think it ok for citizens of that country to come in and brutally murder your family? Because an eye for an eye right? Except, these are INNOCENT CIVILIANS and they didn’t TAKE THE EYE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Fucking leaders and their shitty fucking dick
swinging using innocent people as pawns in their game.

Have some empathy, for the victims of IDF AND for the victims of Hamas

You have confused Netanyahu with his father in your previous posts. He was never named Benzion Mileikowsky- that was his father. He wasn't born in Warsaw- that was his father. He did not change his name to Netanyahu- his grandfather, a Rabbi, changed the family name to Netanyahu which means 'God-given'. But do go on spouting non-factual, prejudiced, inaccuracies.

I am no Netanyahu supporter but he is an Israeli by birth and took his surname from his father.