Young Americans are increasingly likely to view Hamas as “resistance,” not terrorists. That is not a blip. It is a flashing red warning light.
According to data gathered by the American Jewish Committee, 43% of Americans under 30 described Hamas as a “resistance group” last fall — far higher than older cohorts. Other surveys, including the much-debated Harvard/Harris poll, have shown large percentages of young adults saying they “side with Hamas” over Israel when forced to choose.
We can debate methodology. We should note that many of the same respondents also disapprove of Hamas’ conduct or wanted hostages released. Views are often muddled. But even with those caveats, something has shifted.
The problem is not that young Americans care about Palestinians. They should. Gaza has been devastated. Images of destruction saturate social media. Empathy in the face of suffering is not a vice.
The problem is that sympathy for Palestinians is increasingly collapsing into rhetorical rehabilitation of Hamas. “Resistance” has become a moral aesthetic, detached from what is actually being resisted and how.
How did we get here?
First, institutional distrust. Many young Americans do not trust government, media or legacy Jewish organizations. When those institutions insist that Hamas is uniquely evil while appearing to minimize Palestinian suffering, backlash follows. If the establishment says “X,” some instinctively lean toward “not-X.”
Second, social media flattens complexity. A red inverted triangle in a propaganda video becomes a symbol of defiance. A final battlefield image becomes proof of “bravery.” Nuance does not travel in 30-second clips.
Third, polarization within our own community has fed the fire. When every protester is labeled a terrorist sympathizer, when legitimate criticism of Israeli policy is dismissed as antisemitic by definition, we push those who are uncertain toward the absolutists. Young people recoil from perceived hypocrisy.
Fourth, there is a vacuum. Serious discussion of Palestinian political alternatives has been largely absent from American discourse. The Palestinian Authority is widely viewed as corrupt and ineffective. Secular nationalist leaders are marginalized or imprisoned. In that vacuum, Hamas — however brutal — appears to some as the only actor “doing something.”
This is dangerous.
It is dangerous for Jews, because normalizing Hamas erodes the moral boundary around antisemitic violence. It is dangerous for Palestinians, because sanctifying Hamas silences Palestinians who oppose it and undermines the possibility of a different political future. And it is dangerous for Americans, because it confuses armed nihilism with liberation.
What is to be done?
Jewish leaders must stop demanding ritual condemnations and start modeling intellectual honesty. Acknowledge Palestinian suffering without defensiveness. Admit Israeli policy failures where they exist. Hold two truths at once: Hamas is a terrorist organization and Palestinian rights are real.
Educators must teach history, not slogans. Oct. 7 was not a “military operation.” Hamas is not a generic brand name for resistance. And resistance is not morally neutral.
And young activists must be challenged, not caricatured. If you believe in human rights, civilians are never legitimate targets. If you believe in liberation, authoritarian theocracy is not the endpoint.
We do have a problem. It is not that young Americans care too much about justice. It is that justice, untethered from facts and moral consistency, can be seduced by forces that make peace impossible. ■
