Most NYers say pro-Palestinian protests ‘crossed the line into antisemitism'

Majorities of New Yorkers support peaceful student demonstrations for those suffering in Gaza, but say recent campus pro-Palestinian protests have “crossed the line into antisemitism,” according to a poll released on Wednesday.

The Siena College poll of nearly 1,200 registered voters in New York state, taken last week, also found that majorities of New Yorkers support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war but believe the “protests went too far” and justified police action in shutting them down. 

According to the poll, 72% of respondents “support students with passionate views peacefully demonstrating in support of those suffering in Gaza.” Sixty-four percent say they “support an immediate ceasefire.”

Protests went too far

But 70% say “the protests went too far and I support the police being called in to shut them down.” And 61% agreed with the statement, “Demonstrators seem to have forgotten that Hamas started this war by killing 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostages. Now it feels like these demonstrations have crossed the line into antisemitism.”

Answers from New York City respondents did not differ significantly from the statewide results. The survey had a margin of error of 3.9%.

A different survey released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University found that 55% of Americans said they opposed “the student protests being held on college and university campuses responding to Israel’s actions in Gaza?”, while 36% said they supported the protests. That survey did not ask respondents for more detailed responses about the protests.

The New York poll, conducted as most protest encampments across the state and country were winding down, comes amid ongoing debate over the protests and police action to clear them. Supporters of the protests say the mass arrests amount to a violation of First Amendment rights, but many Jewish students and organizations have said the encampments created a hostile atmosphere for Jews and included numerous examples of antisemitic rhetoric and behavior. 

The NYPD has come under fire for clearing protesters from Columbia University’s campus on April 18 and April 30 after being called onto campus by the university administration. Police also forcefully cleared demonstrators from other campuses including at the City College of New York, resulting in more than 100 arrests, and were filmed striking demonstrators at an off-campus rally led by hardline pro-Palestinian groups in Brooklyn on Saturday. 

Among Jewish respondents, 87% said the protests crossed the line into antisemitism, although the survey polled a relatively small sample size of roughly 130 Jews. A majority of Jews oppose a ceasefire, and Jewish respondents were divided on whether to support students peacefully protesting suffering in Gaza. 

A majority or plurality of every political, racial and income group surveyed agreed that the protests had featured antisemitism, although liberal, Black and Latino voters, and those with lower incomes, were more split.

Nearly half of respondents, 48%, supported $26 billion in funding for Israel including $9 billion for humanitarian aid in Gaza, while 33% opposed.