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.

So you're saying that indigenous people don't have the right to their own land? Seriously?

You might need to go back in time a bit but Israel definitely existed pre 1948...

However, there are loads of countries that were created recently. So?

So.this is the best you could come out with when presented with facts? You seem to have assumed a lot about me, yet have not been able to challenge what I said earlier - other than swear and deflect.

No, I'm saying Jews were also indigenous to the land. That's why there's a 1500 year old synagogue in Gaza.

I am not under 24 but I would blame the Israeli government for the war. They did not have to react to the massacre the way they have. They had so much sympathy at the time and now the support has fallen away with the disastrous destruction which has failed to stop hammas or to bring all hostages home. It's Aldi uncovered the terrible way they have treated the Palestinians for decades

The protests against Israel started the evening of October 7th so I'm genuinely not sure what sympathy you're talking about.

Indigenous when though? 3000 years ago - perhaps there is an argument for that, but what about the folks who were living there prior to 1948 for centuries?

Like the Jews who worshipped in the Synagogue in Gaza you mean? If it's 1500 years old, it's fair to assume there were Jews there then. I'm also assuming they didn't just build it and then leave.

when folks from Europe/US, arrived and basically carved out a state from a land where Palestinains lived for over 2000+ yrs

The overall majority of the Israeli population are Jews from Middle Eastern counties and Arab Muslims, just FYI.

It's also very misleading to say there were Palestinians there for 2000 years. Wiki gives an accurate enough summary of the history of the region, it's ruling powers have shifted repeatedly over the last 2000 years:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Israel

You're projecting your own opinions on other people trying to make their position sound reasonable.

There are people who think Israel should not have been created and that it should not exist now. They don't want a Jewish state. The world's only Jewish state. Yet other religious states do not get the same objections.

If you cannot see that it is odd that every other peace march has called for regime change but this one wants to see the end of a country's existence or connect the dots between this and the fact that there are well documented groups who have actively tried to end that country's existence who use the same slogans, well then, you need to think a bit harder.

Except wiki isn't a reliable source - anyone can edit it.

I wasn't presented with facts.🤷🏼‍♀️

And as I made clear, I won't engage with anyone that uses the phrase "crying antisemitism" because it tells me everything I need to know about you.

@noblegiraffe

Totally correct that the Kingdom of Israel existed before 1948, however, it didn't exist in the way that any country or modern state did.

I also think making claims to land due to the fact that a country named that existed 2,900 years ago is a bit much.

Israel clearly has the right to exist but justifying it using this sort of thing ( as Noam Chomsky says) is just quite ridiculous.

At the same time saying there is "no such country as Palestine" or "Palestine never existed" is also incorrect.

@79Helene

I think this says rather more about you than about the other poster.

But j didn't deny Jewish presence in ME though- it is widely accepted and I'm not disputing that. I'm saying, and I'll repeat once again, there was no state of Israel pre 1948 - do you realise there is a difference between a state, and people?

It was a response to someone saying 'you can't find a world map with Israel on it pre 1948' but thanks for your unwarranted intervention.

And as I said, there was no state of Palestine either. I still don't understand what your point is

And what's that, specifically?

With respect, this topic clearly isn't for you.

If only you knew.

You said "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"

Except wiki isn't a reliable source - anyone can edit it.

In this case however its a perfectly accurate and verifiable summary. The history of the region is hardly obscure.

2 questions @Fab238

1. do you think Israel has the right to exist?

and if not

2. do you hold this opinion about any other country in the world?

I think that it depends on the media that people consume and the majority of people around them, and their beliefs.
I have Jewish relatives, but DD hasn't met them, and we now live in a mostly Muslim area. DD is 100% certain she knows everything about the war, and that Palestine is the victim and if she had to choose a side, it would be that of Palestine -but she is going more on what she has been told by her friends.

You're just deliberately deflecting here.
Palestinains, the majority of the population, were living in that land, prior to 1948 - under the occupation of Brits ( denied their rights to a state, different topic), they had been living there for centuries, close to 2000 years so 20 centuries until 1948, when people, predominantly from Europe, arrived and laid claim to that land because their ancestors may have lived there 3000+ years ago. So you have one group who lived there, continuously, generations after generations...and then you have another group arrived out of blue, used violence, and basically killed/displaced the locals and formed a state - do you not see what the issue is here? Leaving religion aside, anyone with any morals can see how wrong this is. And what I have stated isn't disputed by the way - these were the chain of events and the scureent situation is before us.