Majority of young Britons believe 'Israel' must not exist: UnHerd poll

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: UnHerd
6 Jun 2024 05:02
6 Shares

As the Israeli genocidal war against Palestine continues, the UK youth show a trend of shifting their support more in favor of Palestine according to the numbers revealed by an UnHerd poll.

Listen

Pro-Palestinian protesters hold up banners, flags, and placards during a demonstration in London, Saturday, February 3, 2024 as they demand a full ceasefire and an end to the siege of Gaza. (AP)

The majority of young people in Britain do not believe that "Israel" should exist, a new poll conducted by UnHerd revealed. The preliminary findings, part of an exclusive survey of 1,012 voters about foreign policy conducted by Focaldata, indicate that 54% of 18-24-year-olds agreed with the statement that "the state of Israel should not exist," with only 21% disagreeing.

According to the numbers, this sentiment among the UK youth aligns with other polling data from UnHerd on the same issue.

When asked "Who was more to blame for the war in Gaza?" 50% of young respondents pointed to "Israel", while 25% blamed Hamas, and 19% responded "all equally."

UnHerd also underscored the high visibility of the Gaza genocide on social media and noted that it appears to have significantly influenced young people's opinions.

The poll gave the example of the AI-generated graphic, "All Eyes on Rafah," which was shared over 44 million times on Instagram, and pro-Palestine content has proliferated on TikTok.

Further, UnHerd's polling indicated, that, significantly, the UK youth showed greater interest in the unfolding of the war on Gaza than in other global conflicts.

For example, the poll noted that among 18-24-year-olds, 38% reported being very interested in the Gaza war, while 28% were somewhat interested. In comparison, only 19% and 44% were very or somewhat interested in the war in Ukraine, respectively.

As the war on Gaza remains ongoing, public opinion in the UK has gradually shifted in favor of Palestine.

Historic polling shows that support for "Israel", which was at its highest at 21% shortly after the 7th of October, had radically dropped to 16%, according to YouGov figures.

These findings reflect a significant generational divide in attitudes regarding the Israeli occupation and Palestine conflict and suggest a growing pro-Palestinian sentiment among Britain's youth.

Poll shows majority of Germans oppose Israeli conduct in war on Gaza

The majority of Germans are now opposed to "Israel's" war on Gaza, a study conducted by the Forsa Institute for the weekly Stern revealed.

A study conducted last week revealed that 61% of respondents rejected Israeli actions, with only one-third still supporting them. According to Stern, public opinion appears to have swung to its polar opposite in approximately half a year.

As the death toll inches closer to 37,000 Palestinians, Stern revealed that last November, barely a month after the war began, the majority of Germans supported "Israel", citing findings from another Forsa study. At the time, 62% supported the Israeli military action and 31% opposed it, according to the report.

The shift is apparent across all parties in Germany, including Social Democrats, coalition partners, the Greens, and the largest opposition force, the center-right Union, along with some of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) opposing Israeli military action.

Berlin has been an avid supporter of "Israel", going so far as to amend its citizenship test to include questions regarding the Holocaust and "Israel".

Germany's commitment to the occupation goes so far that 30% of "Israel's" arms acquisitions in 2023 came from US corporations, 30% came from Germany, and 0.9% from Italy, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI) annual study issued in March.