The Influence of Age on Attitude Toward Israel: A Study of American Jews

Voiceover

Presenter(s)

Paul Samberg

Abstract or Description

For much of the 21st century, Israel remained one of the few bipartisan political topics in US politics. Republicans and Democrats alike would travel to Washington D.C. annually to participate in the AIPAC Policy Conference and lobby Congressional leaders to support pro-Israel policies. However, recent trends signal a shift, where Israel is seemingly on its way to becoming a political wedge issue. One reason that could explain this change is the relationship between the younger generations of America, the Democratic party and more progressive ideals. Therefore, my research questions are: To what extent does age affect American Jewish attitudes toward Israel? Are young American Jews less attached to Israel than older American Jews? Existing research is both scarce and dated. To answer the research questions, I utilized a mixed approach. First, I used recent survey data as the quantitative data. Then I used qualitative data based on news articles. Lastly, I combined all the data collected with information I collected from individual interviews with Jewish Americans across the country. This allowed for the greatest snapshot of American Jews and their attitudes toward Israel. Based on the culmination of this data, I found evidence to support the hypothesis that younger American Jews feel less connected to Israel. I found that younger American Jews are generally more critical and malevolent toward Israel. However, I was unable to directly link age to attitudes toward Israel; rather, factors like political ideology, Jewish upbringing, and geographic location also had an effect on one’s attitude.

Mentor

Rami Zeedan