Most Jews say Israel is committing war crimes — and 39 percent say genocide — while often distinguishing between the country and its leadership.
Many American Jews sharply disapprove of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, with 61 percent saying Israel has committed war crimes and about 4 in 10 saying the country is guilty of genocide against the Palestinians, according to a Washington Post poll. The findings are striking given the long-standing ties between the U.S. Jewish community and Israel, suggesting the potential for a historic breach over the Gaza war. Two years after Hamas militants poured into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, Israel’s retaliatory incursion has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, displaced many more, and led to widespread hunger in the territory.
American Jews are particularly unhappy with the current Israeli government. Sixty-eight percent give negative marks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership of Israel, with 48 percent rating it “poor” — a 20-percentage-point jump from a Pew Research Center poll five years ago. But Jews also overwhelmingly blame Hamas, with 94 percent saying Hamas has committed war crimes against Israelis.
On WaPo so can’t link