Americans should know by now – but many don’t – that U.S. Jews differ widely in their political views. A study released last week by Pew Research Center shows that, among U. S. Jews, younger adults express much more negative attitudes toward Israel than older adults do, reflecting attitudes in the broader U.S. public. While nearly all Jewish American adults say the Oct. 7 Hamas attack was unacceptable, Jewish adults under 35 are divided nearly in half over whether Israel’s military response has been acceptable or unacceptable. More than half of younger American Jews have been offended by comments on social media about Jews, and about half have stopped talking to someone because of something that person said about the war. The war has taken a huge toll on Israeli Jews and Palestinians. It takes a lesser but significant toll on American Jews, young and old, who report emotions in reaction to the war including sadness, anger, exhaustion and fear. –Fletcher Farrar, editor
This article appears in Angels among us.
