Poll: Israel support not priority for most younger religiously affiliated US Jews

In contrast, half of US Jews over 45 say supporting Israel ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important to their Jewish identity; 3 in 10 Jews under 45 say Israel committed genocide in Gaza

Support for Israel is a key component of the religious identity of many Jewish adults ages 45 and older in the United States, but younger Jewish adults are more likely to prioritize other forms of connection, like celebrating Jewish holidays, according to an AP-NORC poll released last week.

That suggests the generational divide on Israel’s actions since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre that triggered the war in Gaza extends beyond politics to religious identity and affiliation.

The survey of 1,022 Jewish adults from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that this split on support for Israel is particularly apparent among adults who identify as religiously affiliated with Judaism.

Jewish adults who are religiously unaffiliated but identify as Jewish in other ways tend to have less of an emotional connection to Israel in general.

Among the religiously affiliated Jewish adults — who make up 68 percent of Jewish adults overall — about six in 10 say that being Jewish is “extremely” or “very” important in their lives, regardless of their age.

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About half of older religiously affiliated Jewish adults say that supporting Israel is “extremely” or “very” important for their Jewish identity, similar to the percentage who say that about celebrating Jewish holidays.

By contrast, only about four in 10 younger affiliated adults emphasize support for Israel, while about seven in 10 say celebrating Jewish holidays is highly important.

About three in 10 religiously affiliated Jewish adults under 45 say that Israel has committed genocide during the war in Gaza, a charge that Israel has vehemently denied. That’s compared with about two in 10 Jewish adults ages 45 and older.

The poll suggests that other elements of Judaism beyond religious observance remain important to many younger Jewish adults.

Americans under 45 who identify as religiously Jewish are more likely than older Jewish adults to say that marking or celebrating Shabbat or avoiding certain foods, like pork or shellfish, are highly important to their Jewish identity.

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