Support for Israel not a high priority for younger Jewish Americans, new poll finds

By — Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press By — Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, Associated Press Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/support-for-israel-not-a-high-priority-for-younger-jewish-americans-new-poll-finds Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Support for Israel not a high priority for younger Jewish Americans, new poll finds Nation Jul 13, 2026 1:24 PM EDT Support for Israel is a key component of the religious identity of many Jewish adults ages 45 and older in the United States, but younger Jewish adults are more likely to prioritize other forms of connection, like celebrating Jewish holidays, according to a new AP-NORC poll. That suggests the generational divide on Israel's actions since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war in Gaza extends beyond politics to religious identity. "I pray for people in the land of Israel. I don't need to pray for the state," said Cameron Bernstein, a 27-year-old medical student in New Orleans. She was raised with strong ties to Israel, where she celebrated her bat mitzvah, but said that now "it doesn't play a role in my life, more than another country with people I love." The survey of 1,022 Jewish adults from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that this split on support for Israel is particularly apparent among adults like her who identify as religiously Jewish. Jewish adults who are religiously unaffiliated but identify as Jewish in other ways tend to have less of an emotional connection to Israel in general. Among the religiously Jewish adults — who make up 68% of Jewish adults overall — about 6 in 10 say that being Jewish is "extremely" or "very" important in their life, regardless of their age. But about half of older religious Jewish adults say that supporting Israel is "extremely" or "very" important for their Jewish identity, similar to the percentage who say that about celebrating Jewish holidays. By contrast, only about 4 in 10 younger religious Jewish adults emphasize support for Israel, while about 7 in 10 say celebrating Jewish holidays is highly important. Susan Boyer, 72, from Southern California, equates supporting Israel with supporting the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland in the Middle East. READ MORE: Rep. Ro Khanna says he was detained by the Israeli military and settlers in the West Bank Like many other Jewish Americans, the retiree believes Israel is an essential refuge against the possible repetition of large-scale massacres of Jewish people, like the Holocaust, especially as concern about antisemitism rises among Jewish adults. "I've been defending myself as a Jew since I was a child ... getting mugged by girls in my classes for being a Jew," Boyer said. "It's invasive into your daily living that you have to constantly, constantly be defending yourself as a Jew, const