Nearly 25 years after the 9-11 terror attacks, and nearly three years after the Hamas terror attack on Israel, American attitudes toward radical Islamic terrorism are showing a concerning trend. A new Pew Research survey finds 44% of American Muslims support the terror group Hamas, compared with only 26% who have a favorable view of Israel. And it’s not just Muslims. The poll finds that among all Americans under age 30, nearly 60% support the Palestinians while only 32% support Israel.
Notably, the survey didn’t ask about support for the Israeli government or leadership, but the “Israeli people.” This follows a growing violent anti-Israel movement in the U.S. in recent years, with protesters targeting Sen. Ted Cruz’s home and even Trump Tower. Even Republicans under age 30 now have almost equal views of the Israelis and Palestinians. In fact, the only group in the survey still showing solid support for Israel is White Protestants.
“This is very disturbing, no question about it,” says Jeff Addicott, Director of the Warrior Defense Project at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. “Hamas is not just a terrorist organization, but a brutal, vicious terrorist organization that has roots deep in this country, through the Muslim Brotherhood, and also CAIR which is a designated terrorist group…so they operate in sheep’s clothing, but they are surely wolves.”
Nevertheless, a growing number of Muslim Americans, Democrats, and younger Americans now view the “wolves” sympathetically. Addicott warns this is the result of years of indoctrination and a cultural drift from American values. “We are in the stages of forgetting where our freedoms come from, and what the cost of freedom is all about,” he tells KTRH. “So we’ve got to push back on these ideas at every turn, educationally and in the marketplace, or they will gain a greater foothold in our culture.”
“On our 250th anniversary, our culture is in dire need of a course correction in terms of the values that made this a great country.”