Anti-Israel campus protests shake Israelis' sense of trust in US - opinion

An unprecedented wave of anti-Israel protests has engulfed American campuses since mid-April. Starting at Columbia University, protests have spread to more than 100 colleges and universities across the United States, from Connecticut to Texas to California. Condemning Israel’s conduct in its war in Gaza, pro-Palestinian protesters have demanded that universities distance themselves from the Jewish state, including by divesting from Israeli companies and other corporations that support the IDF. University administrators and police officers have clashed with the protesters; more than 2,900 people have been arrested or detained.

A poll by the Institute for Liberty and Responsibility at Reichman University to assess how Israelis view the protests and their implications was conducted by iPanel on May 5-7 among a representative sample of 810 respondents.

In evaluating the protests, a key question asked was whether the respondents thought that the protests represented the anti-Israel attitude of only a minority of Americans, or whether they believed them to echo the sentiments of a larger segment of American society. Israelis diverged in their answers.

According to our poll, 45% of Israeli citizens believe that the protests represent the views of a minority of Americans. However, 30% of Israelis think that roughly half of all Americans sympathize with the protests. 6% of Israelis believe that the protests convey the feelings of a majority of Americans, and 19% of Israelis polled had no clear view on this question.

Israelis have a clear position on the motivation for protests

On the motivation for the protests, Israelis have a clearer position. A majority, 64%, believe that the anti-Israel protests are largely motivated by antisemitism. Here, however, there is a divergence between Jewish and Arab citizens. An overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews, 84%, identify the protests as antisemitic. By contrast, only 12% of Israeli Arabs see the protests as the result of antisemitism.

We also evaluated how Israelis view the implications of the protests on the State of Israel. Are Israelis concerned about the damage that they could cause to Israel’s economy, academia, US-Israel relations, or its international reputation? Or do they dismiss them as insignificant?

We found that a majority, 68%, do believe that the protests might cause damage to Israel. Both center-Left and Right-wing voters expressed concerns about such damage, with the concern somewhat more pronounced among the center-Left.

Importantly, Israelis are not only apprehensive about what the protests mean for their country, but also for themselves. A majority, 63%, would feel less safe traveling in the United States today, compared to before the war.

It is the last finding that perhaps signals the most worrying outcome of the anti-Israel protests. Israelis have long looked at the United States with love and admiration. They have felt comfortable interacting with Americans and traveling across the US. The anti-Israel protests, it seems, are shaking this sense of security and trust.

If a majority of Israelis across the political spectrum currently express uneasiness about visiting the US, this means that the protests have dealt a blow to US-Israel relations. Israelis seem to realize that the bond between the two countries is not as rock-solid as they had thought.

The writer is the acting head of the Institute for Liberty and Responsibility at Reichman University.