In the nearly 10 months since Hamas attacked Israel, killing over 1,200 and kidnapping over 200, we’ve seen sharp lines between those who support Israel and those who back Hamas. Protesters have engaged in violence and vandalism to push for a free Palestine, even though Palestine isn’t a real nation. We hear concern for the plight of the innocent citizens of Gaza (and rightly so), while those expressing outrage often ignore that Hamas repeatedly puts civilians in harm’s way.
Is all of this conflict in service of a political entity or a terrorist organization? Hamas tries to position itself as a legitimate political party, but a new poll demonstrates that Americans aren’t falling for the lie.
Issues & Insights and TIPP Insights conducted an online poll of 1,389 voters this past weekend — after Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress and before the latest violence in Israel. The pollsters asked the question, “‘On Oct. 7, Hamas intentionally killed and raped civilians and took hostages. Should it be considered . . .’, followed by three possible choices: 1.) a political party, 2.) a terrorist organization, and 3.) not sure.”
Before I share the results, here are a couple of caveats. First, online polls are notoriously unreliable. Second, the question sounds like it would lead respondents in a particular direction. Nevertheless, the results were overwhelming enough to demand attention.
Overall, 77% of respondents said that Hamas is a terrorist organization, with 10% calling it a political party and 13% saying they weren’t sure. The results were surprisingly even by party: 74% of Democrats think of Hamas as a terrorist organization, while 83% of Republicans agreed. Three-fourths of independent voters also consider Hamas to be terrorists.
Related: Harris Says 'I Will Not Be Silent' About Dead Kids in Gaza War — Unless They're Israeli Kids
TIPP Insights has more:
None of the 36 demographic groups I&I/TIPP regularly tracks was below 60% in describing Hamas as a terrorist group, an unusually strong consensus in a monthly poll that routinely shows big differences in responses, especially by political party.
One other big difference was age. 94% of those over 65 years of age agreed that Hamas is a terrorist organization, compared to 71% of those 18-24 years of age, 62% of those 25-44, and 82% of those 45-64.
Another question in the poll asked respondents what they thought about President Biden’s rhetoric regarding his commitment to Israel. Pollsters asked, "In early April, President Biden said that 'My commitment to Israel is ironclad.' " In your opinion, generally speaking, how closely have his actions adhered to the spirit of that statement?"
TIPP Insights explains that the responses to that question weren’t as one-sided:
Overall, a plurality of 43% said they agreed that Biden's actions toward Israel matched his rhetoric, while 37% said they didn't.
Look a little closer, and you see that, of the 43%, just 16% say his words and deeds match "very closely," while 27% say "somewhat" closely. As for the 37% "not closely" response, 21% said "not very closely" and 16% said "not at all" closely.
However, when broken down by political party, the picture changes somewhat.
Democrats overwhelmingly supported the idea that Biden's verbal promises and his actions toward Israel were in sync, 66% to 18%. That compares with 30% to 57% for the Republicans and 34% to 39% for independents.
The consensus here is that although most Americans see Hamas as a terrorist organization rather than as a political one, the Biden-Harris administration’s treatment of Israel is more divisive. We’ll see how that plays out at the ballot box come November, but the issue of Israel isn’t going away anytime soon.
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