Will young voters ditch Biden over Israel? For most, it鈥檚 not a priority.
| Richmond, Va.
When asked what issues are top of mind as they prepare to vote in their first presidential election this November, Cassidy Mazyck and Alexia McNamara, students at Virginia Commonwealth University, list several.聽
鈥淧robably guns and women鈥檚 rights. Abortion is a huge one,鈥� says Ms. Mazyck, who is studying clinical radiation science.
鈥淚 would say jobs or women鈥檚 rights,鈥� says Ms. McNamara, an information systems major.
Why We Wrote This
As student demonstrators clash with authorities on campuses nationwide, it鈥檚 raising questions about the youth vote in the fall. But polling shows most young people are far more focused on the economy than on the Mideast.
鈥淥h, and student loans for sure,鈥� adds Ms. Mazyck.聽
Neither mentions the Middle East.
The omission seems striking 鈥� given that they are sitting on yellow Adirondack chairs less than 40 feet away from the university鈥檚 鈥渓iberation zone,鈥� where a group of their peers is loudly pounding on bucket drums and chanting slogans like 鈥淚srael is a racist state!鈥� and 鈥淏iden, Biden you will see, Palestine will be free!鈥� Later that evening, the protest would turn violent, with police using tear gas to clear the encampment and protesters throwing objects at officers. Several arrests were made.
As colleges and universities across the United States continue to grapple with student protests over Israel鈥檚 controversial military campaign in Gaza, it is raising new questions about whether President Joe Biden will pay a price at the ballot box among young people, a key voting bloc for Democrats.聽In remarks from the White House Thursday morning, Mr. Biden said he supported peaceful protest but not violence, intimidation, or 鈥渃haos.鈥� Asked if the demonstrations on campuses had caused him to reconsider U.S. policy in the region, he responded, 鈥淣o.鈥澛�
Certainly, some students upset about Israel and Gaza might decide to stay home or cast a protest vote against Mr. Biden 鈥� and in a close election, even a small loss of support can hurt.聽
Yet for all the passions currently on display, polling suggests the Middle East is not the determining issue for most young people that headlines make it out to be. Indeed, when it comes to political priorities, the younger generation isn鈥檛 all that different from older ones: They鈥檙e mostly focused on the economy.
Nearly one-third of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 rank the economy as their primary concern, according to released last month. That鈥檚 compared with only 2% who rank the Israeli-Palestinian conflict first.聽A majority of young voters also say they don鈥檛 follow national politics closely, and nearly three-quarters don鈥檛 consider themselves politically engaged or politically active.聽
鈥淭he loudest voices aren鈥檛 usually representative of where the majority of folks are, even within one generation,鈥� says Stefan Hankin, a Democratic pollster. With Election Day still six months away, he adds, there鈥檚 plenty of time for any number of issues to rise to the surface or fall away. 鈥淲hat exactly is going to be driving people come November is a big question mark.鈥�
Overall, Americans鈥� interest in the Middle East has actually been declining, according to data from Mr. Hankin鈥檚 Trendency Research. And no generation has seen a greater drop-off than Generation Z, 64% of whose members reported paying attention to the Israeli-Palestinian issue in October, but only 38% of whom were paying attention come March.
Among those who are closely following it, however, most have grown increasingly critical of Israel鈥檚 actions.聽 聽
In the shadow of聽Virginia Commonwealth University鈥檚 library on Monday, about 50 young people, several wearing keffiyehs, march in a circle while a young woman leads call-and-response chants over a megaphone. Organizers pass out sunscreen and Gatorade beneath signs that read 鈥淔reedom by any means鈥� and 鈥淔rom the river to the sea.鈥� Like many protesters on other campuses across the country, these VCU students are demanding their school divest from companies with ties to Israel.聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 just so much funding for Israel, and that goes to the bomb strikes,鈥� says Isabelle Cofield, a medical science student who has joined the demonstration and credits social media for 鈥渉elping spread the issue鈥� among her generation. When asked whom she plans to vote for in November, Ms. Cofield groans and says she鈥檚 unsure who will be the 鈥渓esser of two evils.鈥�
This uncertainty was shared by many protesters and bystanders alike on VCU鈥檚 campus 鈥� regardless of their opinions on the situation in the Middle East. Almost a dozen students tell the Monitor they plan to vote in the presidential election this fall, but they鈥檙e not sure for whom.
Niya Shorts, for example, a criminal justice student who鈥檚 studying in the spring sunshine a few blocks from the protest, says she鈥檚 most concerned about affordable schooling, housing, and gun control. But she says she plans to 鈥渓ook again鈥� at both Mr. Biden and former President Donald Trump before making a decision.
Many young people just aren鈥檛 focused on politics right now, says Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of Tufts University鈥檚 CIRCLE, which studies youth civic engagement. 鈥淭he peak of registration and mobilization for young people is much later, more towards the end of the summer.鈥澛�
Still, some students say the situation in Gaza will absolutely influence their vote. Sareen Haddad, a Palestinian psychology student leading VCU鈥檚 protest, says that she and many of her peers plan either to not vote or to cast ballots for third-party candidates like the Green Party鈥檚 Jill Stein, who was at a pro-Palestinian protest on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.聽聽
鈥淔or anybody who currently is in a position of power that is not calling for an immediate cease-fire, supporting humanitarian aid into Gaza, and also defunding the Israeli military, the support from my generation, at least, plummets completely,鈥� says Ms. Haddad. 鈥淚 can tell you for sure that anybody who supports the Palestinian cause is not for Biden 鈥� and anybody who supports the Palestinian cause and has a heart is not for Trump, either.鈥�
