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Pro-Palestinian College Protests Have Not Won Hearts and Minds

(Washington Post) Aaron Blake - Pro-Palestinian college protests have faded somewhat from the news, as law enforcement has cracked down on encampments and schools break for the summer. While the protests might have earned some concessions from administrators, it's become clear that they've failed in winning over the American public. Multiple polls in recent weeks have shown relatively little sympathy for the protesters or approval of their actions. Large numbers of Americans have attached the "antisemitic" label to them. The Siena College poll of New Yorkers shows they agreed 70% to 22% that the protests "went too far, and I support the police being called in to shut them down." YouGov polling this month showed Americans disapproved of the protests by around a 2-1 margin. A Fox News poll showed just 16% said the protests made them more sympathetic to Palestinians, while 29% said the protests made them less sympathetic. The Fox poll showed Americans said that "antisemitic" described the protests, 46-45. A Suffolk University poll showed Americans said the protests "reflect antisemitism," 41-40. A Yahoo/YouGov survey showed 37% of Americans said that "all" or "most" protesters are antisemitic - more than the 30% who said only "few" or "none" are. The Siena poll showed that New Yorkers agreed 61-25 that the protesters have lost sight of Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis and that "it feels like these demonstrations have crossed the line into antisemitism." Even Democrats agreed, 54-32. Even adults under the age of 35 agreed, 46-38.
2024-05-23 00:00:00
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