Majority of voters in new poll worried US could be drawn into Israel-Hamas war

Over 80 percent of Americans are concerned that the U.S. could be pulled into the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, according to a new poll.

The Quinnipiac University poll, released Thursday, found about 84 percent of respondents were either “very” or “somewhat” concerned that the U.S. could be drawn into the conflict.

The response varied by political party, with Republicans showing a higher concern than Democrats. About 52 percent of Republicans said they were very concerned, compared to 30 percent of Democrats.

“American voters watching the cauldron of the Middle East reaching a furious boiling point are fearful the war, so far confined to Israel and Gaza, will metastasize to include U.S. troops.” Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement.

Antisemitism is also a rising concern among Americans, according to the poll. About 75 percent of respondents said anti-Jewish discrimination is either a very or somewhat serious problem. That’s a record high response, pollsters said.

Concerns about antisemitism have spurred the creation of new initiatives from the Biden administration aiming to fight the bigotry.

“There’s no place for hate in America, and we condemn any antisemitic threat or incident in the strongest — in the strongest terms,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.

The same poll also found that humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza is overwhelmingly popular, with 71 percent of respondents backing U.S. aid for the region. Military aid is much less so however, with only 51 percent saying the U.S. should send Israel military equipment.

That 51 percent support varies widely when considering politics and age. Older and more conservative respondents more likely to support U.S. sending aid to Israel.

Aid for Ukraine is in a nearly mirrored position, with about 53 percent support overall. In that case, younger and more liberal respondents were more likely to support additional military aid.

President Biden announced an additional $425 million in aid for Ukraine on Friday, continuing U.S. backing of the country’s war effort against Russia.

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted Oct. 26-30 with 1,610 self-identified registered voters nationwide. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.