Generation gap: What student protests say about US politics and support for Israel | Israel War in Gaza News

Washington DC – A protest movement on Gaza university campuses in the United States has highlighted a generational divide in Israel, experts say, with young people’s willingness to challenge politicians and university administrators on display across the country.

The disparity of opinion – with younger Americans generally more supportive of Palestinians than the generations that preceded them – poses a risk to 81-year-old Democratic President Joe Biden’s re-election chances, they argue.

It could also threaten the bipartisan support Israel enjoys in Washington.

“We are already seeing evidence of a generational divide in Israel, and this will be a long-term issue for the Democratic Party,” said Omar Wasow, assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley.

“These protests accelerate the generation gap,” Wasow told Al Jazeera.

Students at Columbia University in New York set up a Palestine solidarity camp last week and have since faced arrests and other disciplinary measures after the college administration called on police to end the protest.

However, despite the crackdown, similar camps have emerged in the US, as well as in other countries.

Images of students, teachers and journalists being violently detained by officers on several campuses sparked outrage, but did little to slow down the dynamics of the protests, which continued to spread.

‘Inflection moment’

Students largely demand that their universities disclose their investments and withdraw any funds from weapons manufacturers and companies involved with the Israeli military.

Politicians from both major U.S. parties, as well as the White House and pro-Israel groups, have accused the students of fueling anti-Semitism – allegations that protesters vehemently deny.

Eman Abdelhadi, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, said young people are increasingly frustrated with the status quo on domestic and foreign policy issues.

“I think there is real discontent with the older generation, but more importantly with the system they run,” Abdelhadi said.

She added that the protests mark a “turning point” in US public opinion more broadly.

“In American history in general, typically major shifts in public opinion have coincided with or been triggered by major student movements,” Abdelhadi told Al Jazeera.

She said campus activism can be the foundation of political change. “There’s a kind of feeling that this is the future.”

Biden’s problems

For years, the public opinion polls in the US suggest that young people are more likely to sympathize with Palestinians and criticize Israel.

But Americans in general have become more critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, including in the ongoing war in Gaza.

Several polls suggest that the majority of US respondents support a permanent ceasefire in the besieged Palestinian enclave, where Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since the conflict began on October 7.

But Biden has maintained firm support for Israel, America’s main Middle East ally, amid the war.

The 81-year-old president’s stance could be politically costly as Biden faces a difficult re-election bid in the November elections, which are expected to pit him against his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.

Polls suggest that Biden will need to appeal to the base of the Democratic Party, which is not as united in support of Israel as the Republican Party.

Angus Johnston, a historian of US student activism, explained that the generational divide in Israel is especially pronounced among Democrats.

“Nationally, we have seen this as a disconnect between the values ​​of young voters and most Democratic politicians for some time,” Johnston told Al Jazeera.

“And what we’re seeing now is a similar disconnect between young people on campus and many of the administrators who run these campuses, along with alumni and donors.”

Abdelhadi, the sociologist, added that law enforcement’s heavy-handed approach to solidarity protests in Gaza undermined Democrats’ argument that Biden’s election would protect the nation from Trump, whom they accuse of authoritarianism.

“The reality is that Democrats have been telling us that young people need to save democracy and that people of color need to save democracy and that any problems with this current administration need to be set aside to save democracy,” he said. she to Al Jazeera. .

“But where is democracy when there are state troopers beating students and teachers for protesting and the White House says nothing about it?”

Wasow also said the protests and the crackdown against them could increase apathy toward Biden.

“Democrats can’t really afford to give people more reasons to vote against Biden, and this actually becomes one.”

Policy change

However, student protesters do not get involved in US partisan politics. Instead, they stressed that their demands aim to help protect the human rights of Palestinians.

So, can the demonstrations help bring about changes in US policy and realize its divestment demands?

Johnston, the historian, said U.S. colleges are unlikely to divest from large corporations and the defense industry in the near term, but the call for transparency in their investments is reasonable.

He added that long-term change is possible, but it won’t happen overnight.

“We have seen time and time again that student organizing changes policy, not always quickly and not always in the way students expected,” Johnston said.

“But we see that when student organizing reaches a certain level of intensity, it can have a significant effect.”

For example, he said that university activism against apartheid in South Africa began in the 1950s and grew over the years.

“I think there is no doubt that campus anti-apartheid organizing in the 1980s was a significant part of what changed American popular opinion and political opinion about the South African regime,” he said.

Wasow, who studied in the 1960s civil rights protestsalso said that demonstrations could change public opinion, help develop political coalitions around a cause, and build civic capacity to advance an issue.

“If what’s happening now doesn’t result in any kind of political change, but results in a generation of young people developing some kind of civic capacity around activism around these issues, I think that would continue to have long-term effects. ”