Back in July, 2023 The Brookings Institution Posted An Article Asking The Question: “How do Americans feel about Zionism, antisemitism, and Israel?” The Results Were Very Telling.

Obviously, I reference this older article because it came before the events on October 7, 2023. Since humans are very biased creatures, I’m sure if this same poll were conducted today, the results would be very different. I think the results would be even more favorable to the Palestinian cause because more Americans are better informed today about Israel’s apartheid state and also the mysterious Zionism project that gave birth to the state.

The quick & dirty answer to that question—at least according to the charts cited below—majority of Americans know very little about Zionism, how undemocratically the Israel state actually operates and overwhelmingly favor a free & liberal Democracy over a purely Jewish State of Israel.

Regardless of what you think about the D.C. based think-tank, the article by Shibley Telhami at Brookings explored a question that is on the minds of a lot of people right now: How do Americans feel about Zionism, antisemitism, and Israel?

What is your impression of Zionism?

More importantly, Americans overwhelming favor an Israeli state that is democratic with multiple religions than one that is purely Jewish. This gives new meaning (and life) to the popular protest chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Maybe they should just add in a hyphenated Israel into the chant to make everyone happy because at the end of the day that is what the American people want. Mr. Telhami writes:

First, in the absence of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, about three-quarters of Americans, including 80% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans, would choose a democratic Israel that’s no longer Jewish, over a Jewish Israel without full citizenship and equality for non-Jews living under its authority.

Source: Brookings

If a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians were not possible, meaning the West Bank and Gaza had to be under Israeli control indefinitely, which of the following would be closer to your view?

Furthermore, a finding that completely goes against the media’s current framing of how politicians and their constituents view the state of Israel is stated toward the end of the article. Once again, Americans overwhelming want Israel to be a model democracy with freedoms for all those who live there than focusing on the “Jewishness” of Israel. Mr. Telhami writes:

One key takeaway pertains to how Americans see the choice between Israel’s Jewishness and its democracy if a two-state solution were no longer on the table. Not only does a large majority, 73%, choose democracy even if it meant that Israel would no longer be a Jewish state, but this included most Republicans, 64%, who tend to be very supportive of Israel. Further analysis also shows that a majority of Evangelical Christians, 58%, who tend to be most supportive of Israel, would choose democracy over Jewishness in Israel.

Source: Brookings

And finally, the elephant in the room is the general attitude toward antisemitism when referencing Zionism and the State of Israel. As expected, Americans are very uninformed on this topic, until very recently of course. As much as the powers that be try to keep words like Zionism, apartheid and Palestine out of the media, at the end of the day Americans are very intelligent and caring people (this doesn’t include political and corporate leaders, of course). Let’s not forget, Americans are the same people who put an end to slavery (took time and a lot of blood, but happened nonetheless), so stopping sales of weapons to a small rogue state like Israel shouldn’t be a big deal. Actually I shouldn’t say that so easily. A little known cognitive bias known as loss aversion kicks into high gear when billions in weapons sales cannot occur. Understandably, American corporate leaders won’t give in so easily.

Which of the following attitudes constitute antisemitism?

In conclusion, if you’re head isn’t spinning after digesting some of those charts, then you probably haven’t been following any news since October 7, 2023. I know I stated this earlier, but I love how this poll was conducted just months before October because it gives a healthy pulse of American sentiments on highly contentious topics. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the follow-up poll later this summer, but something tells me University of Maryland will not be conducting one…(ominous music playing in the background).