Democrats divided on pro-Palestinian campus protests: Poll

Democrats are split over the continued pro-Palestinian protests that rocked college campuses across the country, a new poll shows, possibly previewing a generational divide on the issue heading into the November election.

The Politico-Morning Consult poll found 26 percent of Democratic respondents said they think student protesters are “in the right and doing the right thing,” while 48 percent said they are in the right but taking things too far.

But the poll, conducted near the end of the school year for many campuses, found younger voters are more likely to be sympathetic to the Palestinian movement and student protesters. Half of Gen Z and millennial registered voters surveyed said they hold a favorable view toward the campus demonstrations, while just 44 percent of all Democratic respondents felt the same way. Nearly a third of Democrats as a whole said they view the campus demonstrations unfavorably.

The poll’s generational divide illustrates the fine line President Biden and other Democrats are trying to toe heading into the November election, which will fall a little over a year after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israeli citizens that sparked the war in Gaza.

Thousands of people gathered outside the White House over the weekend in protest against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

About 75 percent of respondents said they are aware of the ongoing demonstrations, while more than 60 percent of respondents said they are aware of students advocating for their universities to divest from companies with Israeli ties.

More than 75 percent of the poll’s respondents across parties said they view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as important in deciding how to vote.

Pro-Palestine protesters interrupted Biden’s address Tuesday during a gun violence prevention conference in Washington, D.C.

At least 25 people were arrested during the protest against the Gaza conflict Monday evening on the University of California, Los Angeles, campus. The Associated Press reported they were given 14-day orders to stay away from campus before they were released.

The Politico-Morning Consult poll was conducted May 28-29 among 3,996 registered voters via online interviews. The margin of error is 2 percentage points.