“As Boomers die off:” what that means for pro-Palestine young Americans

Young Americans whose grandparents and fathers were pro-Israel are now defending Palestine.

A few years ago, it wouldn’t even have crossed anyone’s mind to say such a thing. But for some time now, the American media has been discussing the deep generational divide that polls have also revealed.

Surveys from Pew Research Center, a leading organization that measures global trends, and NBC News, which takes the pulse of the American people, show that views on Israel have reversed.

The change in America is striking. But what’s really noteworthy are the breakdowns in both studies. The data point to an “undertow” that those who run Israel and the political mindset that unconditionally supports it either don’t see or don’t want to see.

According to a Pew survey released this April, 60% of Americans have an “unfavorable” view of Israel. That percentage rises as the age of respondents goes down.

According to an NBC survey recently analyzed on air with detailed graphics, three‑quarters of young Americans aged 18–29 feel more sympathy for Palestinians than for Israelis.

Overall, there is an even split: 50% of Americans feel closer to Israelis, and the other 50% feel closer to Palestinians. This equal division is the clearest sign that the American public is distancing itself from Israel.

The NBC data also highlight a partisan detail. Republicans see the issue along Trump’s lines, supporting Israel by 81%. Among Democrats, however, there is a major break: 75% say they have more sympathy for Palestinians.

The most important finding of the NBC poll is the clarity with which young voters view political and humanitarian issues. Among Generation Z in the West – those born between 1990 and 2010 – 74% support Palestine, setting aside their political views. Financial Times writer Edward Luce, in an article examining both surveys, says of the political fracture in America: “As the Baby Boomer generation leaves the stage, the anti‑Israel trend in the U.S. seems likely to harden even further.”

American psychologist and academic Jean Twenge, known in our country for her book Generation Me, notes that the worldview of the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946–1964) was shaped by the arrival of television in homes. She particularly highlights Hollywood’s influence, citing film examples.

That Baby Boomer generation grew up with the Israel that was narrated on television. Those now under 50, however, watch Gaza in real time on their cell phones and are in constant interaction with the rest of the world.

So what does this societal attitude, reflected in the polls, herald?

At a time when it is being debated that the U.S. and Israel, despite their military superiority, cannot achieve physical and political dominance over Iran, the marked decline in public support points to a “civil societal alignment” that transcends countries, leaders, and diplomacy. One thing is now very clear: the “memory” of societies is being renewed.

American imperialism’s policy of uprooting civilizations and globalizing countries down to their villages has, ironically, now laid the groundwork for generations who make decisions with their conscience to assert their will through the very communication networks that imperialism itself established.

This social realignment is the clearest sign that politics will change. As Boomers leave the stage, the historical reflexes built upon them will weaken, and the realities that people see and witness – not the past – will shape the present.

In fact, the world is drifting from conflicts between nations toward a larger and more severe battle between a progressively isolated Zionist Israeli mindset and those who say, “We are not like those tyrants.”