Research from Harvard University and the Harris Poll suggests that while American support for Israel remains robust, the year-long war with Hamas in Gaza ranked low in voting priorities.
The survey polled 3,145 registered voters from Oct. 11-13, including 2,596 likely voters and 898 voters in battleground states. The margin of error is +/- 1.8% on a 95% confidence level.
On a question asking for "the most important issues facing the country today," inflation topped the list with 39%, followed by immigration (35%), "economy and jobs" (29%), women's rights (17%), and healthcare (16%). The Israel-Hamas conflict came in 15th on the list at 6% while antisemitism reached 28th with 2%.
Karlyn Bowman, a distinguished senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), explained to JNS that the setup of the poll may have influenced the results.
"It is my impression that they asked people to volunteer what they thought was the most important issue," Bowman told JNS. "In other words, if people had been given a list to choose from, the responses might be different."
Bowman noted that "in nearly all other recent polls I've seen, the economy/inflation and immigration top the list of concerns people have. These two issues are so potent that they tend to crowd out other responses. So this isn't surprising or unusual. Five percent is considered the threshold of significance; the Israel-Hamas conflict hits that mark."
Bob Shapiro, a political science professor at Columbia University, told JNS that "the 6% for Gaza is not surprising and 2% for antisemitism as well. The percentages are only as high as they are since respondents evidently were allowed to give multiple responses so that the responses sum up to more than 100%. So they are likely to be the single most important issue for very few voters."
Christopher Wlezien, a government professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told JNS that the use of "most" in the question "forces people to choose among the many important problems they might see, and when the economy and national security are problems, they tend to drive out other ones."
Another question named eight issues and asked voters to name the one "most important to you personally." Inflation came in at the top with 46%, immigration at 14%, abortion at 11% and the Israel-Hamas conflict at 3%.
In a ranking of favorability for 19 countries, institutions, activist groups and media companies, Israel reached fifth with 48% support. The U.S. military, police, Facebook, and the FBI ranked higher than Israel, while Fox News, CNN, Black Lives Matter, X, MSNBC, MAGA Republicans, campus protesters, China, and the Palestinian Authority ranked lower.
U.S. President Joe Biden received approval from 35% of respondents for his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Another question asked whether voters regarded Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump as better on the Israel-Hamas war. Harris received 37% support, Trump received 47%, and 16% said they did not know. The survey also showed that 62% of voters reported closely following the war, 81% supported Israel, and 73% saw Iran as a regional sponsor of terror in the Middle East.
Republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate