Some Basic Facts:
- A majority of Americans (61%) say the U.S. should play a role in diplomatically resolving the Israel-Hamas war. Still, more want the U.S. to play a minor role (37%) than a major one (24%). An additional 19% would prefer for the U.S. to play no diplomatic role at all, and 19% are unsure. Posted Oct. 1, 2024. (pewresearch.org)
- More Americans say they have little or no confidence in Netanyahu (52%) than say they have a lot or some confidence in him (31%) to do the right thing regarding world affairs. Another 17% have not heard of Netanyahu or did not answer the question.
There are large partisan differences in views of the Israeli leader: Half of Republicans express confidence in Netanyahu, compared with only 14% of Democrats. The 71% of Democrats who have little or no confidence in Netanyahu includes 39% who say they have no confidence in him at all. (pewresearch.org) - According to a study by Brandeis University researchers, about 15% of students surveyed were hostile to Israel, with many believing, for example, that Israel has no right to exist. It also found that nearly a quarter of non-Jewish students overall said they did not want to be friends with people who support Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, a stance the survey said had the effect of “ostracizing nearly all of their Jewish peers.” (jta.org)
- More than 135,000 Israeli citizens from 105 towns and communities in the north and south evacuated their homes shortly after October 7 – either compulsorily, with the help of Israel’s military, its tourism ministry and other government bodies, or voluntarily out of fear – in what has become the largest internal displacement in Israel’s history. (The Jewish Chronicle, thejc.com)