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New polling out of the University of Maryland suggests young Republicans aren’t buying Donald Trump and his administration’s spin that recent protests on college campuses over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza are motivated by antisemitism.
According to the data, more Americans believe the protests are driven by anger with Israel than antisemitism — a distinction the president and his administration have tried to blur, in defiance of the many Jewish activists who’ve bristled at attempts to conflate the two.
As Lawfare Media explained, some of the most eyebrow-raising findings expose the stark difference between how the younger (18- to 34-year-olds) and the older (35 and older) Republicans who were surveyed view the protests:
The most striking difference is between younger and older Republicans: Whereas 53 percent of older Republicans say protests are more reflective of antisemitic attitudes, only 25 percent of younger Republicans say the same; and whereas 18 percent of older Republicans say protests are more reflective of anger with Israeli actions, 31 percent of younger Republicans say the same.
This tracks with data from the past half-decade that show young Republicans hold a far less favorable view of Israel’s government than older Republicans do. (That said, Republicans of either category were more likely to attribute the protests to antisemitism than either Democrats or independents of any age.)
One possible explanation for this generational divide could be that MAGA-friendly podcasts, which are often marketed to young people, include several figures who are known for platforming and promoting antisemitic views. Consumers of such media may have internalized some of those views and be disinclined to identify anything as antisemitic (regardless of whether it is or not).
It’s also possible that some young Republicans’ reluctance to accept the Trump administration’s framing when it comes to campus protests is a consequence of how much time young people spend on social media, where images of the devastation in Gaza have been abundant. And that could be shaping young conservatives’ ideas about the other motivations one might have for protesting, rather than assuming protesters are antisemitic.
Whatever the reason, the generational divide in perceptions may have caught the attention of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with right-wing podcasters during his visit to the United States in April in a move he said was intended to address a growing trend of anti-Israel sentiment in the MAGA media space.