16% of young Britons believe October 7 massacre was justified - poll

Young Britons have become increasingly radicalized in favor of Hamas since the October 7 massacre, according to new polling by YouGov.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) commissioned the survey of British adults’ attitudes toward Jews.

One in 11 young Britons (18-24) has a favorable view of Hamas at 9%, three times the number of the general British public at 3%.

More than one in eight, 13%, do not believe reports that Hamas killed around 1,200 Israelis in the attacks on October 7 are broadly true, compared to 7% of the general public.

A higher number (16%) believe that the massacre was justified, compared to 7% of the general public. Over a quarter, 28%, of “very left-wing” Britons said the massacre was justified.

Most Britons (59%) said they would avoid going to a city center if they knew that there would be a pro-Palestine march.

One in three (33%) Britons believe Israel is treating Palestinians the same way Nazis treated Jews; this was the highest figure recorded. This view closely followed their political orientation, with over two-thirds of those identifying as “very left-wing” holding the view, compared to 45% of Labour voters, 36% of Liberal Democrat voters, 22% of Conservative voters, and 18% of Reform voters.

British people wary of Israeli influence

One in five Britons believed that Israel could get away with anything because its supporters control the media; this rises to a third when looking at young people.

More than three times as many young Britons (23%) do not believe Israel has the right to defend itself than the general public (7%), while one in five young Britons do not think that Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people.

One in five Britons isn’t comfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel, with the figure being even worse among young Britons at 41%, double the figure recorded in December 2023.

Nearly a quarter (22%) of the general population thinks that Israel and its supporters are a bad influence on Britain and its democracy; this figure is nearly double for young people (43%).

The survey, which was conducted with over 2,500 respondents in early August, was weighted to be representative of the general British adult population.

A CAA spokesperson said, “Extremism is becoming normalized in our country, and as ever, Jews are the canaries in the coal mine. Most alarming of all, our young people are becoming radicalized at a far greater rate than the rest of the population, sympathizing with terrorists and espousing extreme anti-Jewish racism.”