Pew Survey shows half of Democrats blame Israel (not Hamas) for war: more concerned about Islamophobia than antisemitism

Ah, Those who call evil good And good evil; Who present darkness as light And light as darkness; Who present bitter as sweet And sweet as bitter! Isaiah  5:20

More than twice as many Democrats (50%) as Republicans (21%) say that the Israeli government bears “a lot” of responsibility for the war against the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip.

That’s according to a new poll that the Pew Research Center conducted of 5,203 adults between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3.

Most Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (73%) and Democrats and those who lean Democrat (62%) said Hamas bears a lot of responsibility, per the survey. Nearly half (46%) of those ages 18 to 29 said that Hamas is very responsible for the war.

Overall, more respondents said Hamas is to blame “a lot” (65%) and “a little” (9%) for the war than said the Israeli government is to blame “a lot” (35%) and “a little” (24%).

More than four-in-ten Democrats (45%) say Israel is going too far in its military operation against Hamas, compared with 12% of Republicans.

Most Democrats (62%) say that a peaceful, two-state solution is possible as compared to almost half (43%) of Republicans.

It should be noted that in a recent survey carried out by the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD), a Ramallah-based research and consulting firm, only 13.3% of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and 22.7% of Gazans support a two-state solution. 77.7% of the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and 70.4% of Gazans support an exclusively Palestinian state “from the river to the sea”.

More than one-third (36%) of those who are or lean Democrat are concerned that the war in Gaza will lead to a terrorist attack in the U.S.

 Nearly half (49%) of those who are or lean Democrat concerned about increasing violence against U.S. Jews. A larger percentage of these respondents (53%) are concerned about increasing violence against Muslims in the US. 

48% of those who are or lean Republican are extremely concerned about increasing violence against U.S. Jews. Only 22% are concerned about increasing violence against Muslims in the U.S.

There has been a spike in anti-Muslim incidents since the war began. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said that it received 774 requests for help and reports of bias incidents from Muslims across the U.S. from Oct. 7 to Oct. 24, a 182% jump from any given 16-day stretch last year. For comparison, during a 16-day period in 2022, it received an average of 274 complaints.

This is certainly alarming, but a recent report by Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, noted that the U.S. was reaching “historic” levels of antisemitism. Wray noted that while Jews make up 2.4% of the American population,  they are targeted by 60% of all religious-based hate crimes.

The Anti-Defamation League in the first few weeks after the attack documented 312 antisemitic incidents since the breakout of the conflict, a 388 percent spike over the same period last year.

Among Republican respondents, 51 percent disapprove of the administration’s response, while 28 percent approve. Democrats polled are more split: 44 percent approve, 33 percent disapprove and 22 percent are not sure.

While most non-religious Jews traditionally support the Democratic Party, the Democrats have become increasingly anti-Israel. On Thursday, Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Cori Bush (D-MO) held a press conference on Capitol Hill, accusing Israel of war crimes and genocide. The three called for President Biden to pressure Israel into ending the war and leaving Hamas intact.

“And let me be clear about what’s happening: These are war crimes,” Bush said. “The targeting of civilians is a war crime; the targeting of medical facilities is a war crime, the starvation and withholding of water and electricity is a war crime; the collective punishment of 2.3 million people is a war crime, and we refuse to be silent.”

It should be emphasized that the IDF does not “target civilians” and goes to great lengths to minimize civilian casualties, despite Hamas posing as civilians and using actual civilians as human shields, both in contravention of international law. Hamas also uses medical facilities as military installations, and usurps humanitarian aid sent to Gaza.

The three Democrats are also strong advocates for the Black Lives Matter organization which has come out in support of Hamas’ October 7 invasion of Israel and the massacre of over 1,200 Israelis. 

Tlaib was censured by the House for using genocidal language referring to Israel.