Poll shows most Canadians, but not youth, support Israel over Hamas

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A year after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, a new Leger poll suggests younger and left-wing Canadians are markedly more likely to support Hamas, while older and right-of-centre Canadians favour Israel. The poll was commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies for the National Post.

The CEO and president of ACS attributes the gulf in opposing views to disparate sources of information about Israel’s war with Hamas. According to Jack Jedwab, “the stark differences in opinion” among respondents who sympathize with Hamas and those who favour Israel can be explained by “the persons and sources of information that younger and older respondents trust when formulating their views.”

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Canadian views of Hamas

According to the poll, only one in 10 Canadians had a positive view of Hamas. Significantly, though, one in five Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24 viewed the terrorist group positively.

Respondents were also asked about which side they supported in the war.  Again, younger respondents threw their support behind Hamas — by a two-to-one margin, 21 per cent for Hamas versus 11 per cent for Israel. For people over 55, the equation flipped in favour of Israel to prevail in the conflict: 46 per cent for Israel versus 6 per cent for Hamas.

Quebecers and Ontarians were equally divided in their support for Israel or Hamas, unlike the rest of the country, where a majority voiced support for Israel in the ongoing conflict. Among Quebecers, 20 per cent of respondents favoured Israel and 21 per cent Hamas. In Ontario, 24 per cent sided with Israel and 23 per cent with Hamas. Albertans were the most likely to support Israel (37 per cent) over Hamas (10 per cent).

Completely unsurprisingly, given the recent protests on university campuses, the poll showed students were more likely to support Hamas (21 per cent) than Israel (16 per cent). Fewer younger Canadians (only 34 per cent) were aware that Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the federal government. It was the reverse among senior Canadians (73 per cent). Canada listed Hamas as a terrorist entity in the Canadian Criminal Code almost 20 years ago, in November 2002.

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For people working full-time, the numbers are divided 26.9 per cent for Israel and 8.9 per cent for Hamas. Among retirees that split is 44.6 per cent for Israel and 4.6 per cent for Hamas.

When it came to respondents’ political leanings, people on the left end of the spectrum were more inclined to support Hamas (24.6 per cent for Hamas and 19.7 per cent for Israel). Respondents who identified as “right” were more inclined to support Israel (62.9 per cent) versus Hamas (1.9 per cent).

“There is a tendency from left to right on the ideological spectrum to frame the issues differently, in particular, what they believe to be the origins of the conflict and who they ultimately blame for the war,” explains Jedwab.

Prospects for self-determination and peace

Most Canadians agreed that the Israelis have the right of self-determination: 56 per cent, yes; 9 per cent, no. Most respondents also agreed Palestinians should have that right: 51 per cent, yes; 13 per cent, no.

Most French speakers in Quebec preferred not to answer questions about self-determination for either Israel (47 per cent) or Palestinians (46 per cent). Quebecers reported being somewhat less likely to understand the issues underlying the conflict, according to Jedwab. “They were also more inclined to avoid conversation when they encountered strong disagreement over it.”

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Regarding the prospects of peace linked with the creation of a Palestinian state, respondents were almost evenly divided. Thirty per cent agreed and 32 per cent disagreed that a Palestinian state would bring stability to the region. Ontarians were more optimistic than the residents of other provinces regarding harmony and a Palestinian state.

One of the intriguing findings by the pollsters was that despite support for Israel, most Canadians have a negative view of Zionism. Across age groups, respondents agreed on this point. Jedwab says this is due to a misunderstanding of the meaning of Zionism.

“The vast majority of adherents simply understand it as the right to Jewish self-determination in Israel,” said Jedwab. People holding negative views of Zionism often conflate it with colonialism and/or see it as conflicting with the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, he added.

The survey was conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies throughout Sept. 20-22 with a sample of 1,612 Canadians. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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