An Israeli soldier stands on top of a Merkava tank near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 20, 2023. Photo by Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh October 24, 2023

A majority of New Yorkers favor the U.S. providing Israel more military aid to bolster its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, according to a new poll published Tuesday.  

The Siena College survey of 1,225 registered voters showed that 57% back President Joe Biden’s military aid package to Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. Support is broad even among voters in New York City, who tend to be more critical of military force. The poll, conducted between Oct. 15 and 19 via landline, cellphone and web, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Nonetheless, 50% of New Yorkers and 58% of Democrats, fearing high casualties among Palestinian civilians, are opposed to a large-scale ground operation in the Gaza Strip. Only 32% say Israel should be given the green light to eliminate the threat of Hamas regardless of the number of casualties. Nineteen percent had no opinion. 

The survey was conducted more than a week after the Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel’s southern border, which killed more than 1,400 people, including at least 30 Americans. Hamas abducted at least 220 Israeli and other nationals and is holding them captive in Gaza. Israeli air strikes in Gaza have killed more than 5,800 Palestinians, according to Palestinian authorities, as Israel is readying to launch a ground incursion of Gaza to dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities. Four hostages have been freed in recent days.

New York elected officials expressed strong support for Israel amid the war. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer traveled to Israel last week, and Israelis cheered New York City Mayor Eric Adams for a speech in which he robustly defended Israel’s right to defend itself and the city’s solidarity with the Jewish state. 

But as the death toll in Gaza quickly mounts, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans suffer what aid groups call a humanitarian crisis, support for Israeli military action seems to be waning. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman and Nydia Velázquez, members of the New York congressional delegation, have co-sponsored a House resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. 

The poll also shows that a majority of New York Jews (53%) and a plurality of the state’s Republicans (49%) favor a large-scale operation in Gaza. With more than 1.8 million Jews, New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel.

“New Yorkers, better than most, understand the need for protecting people and ensuring their security in the wake of a terrorist attack,” said Sara Forman, founder of the New York Solidarity Network, a group launched in 2022 to promote pro-Israel candidates. “It’s clear that returning the hostages is also very important to all New Yorkers,” she said of the poll results, “not just Jewish New Yorkers.” 

The poll had asked voters if they agreed with the statement: “While Israel must try everything to get back the hostages taken by Hamas, a large-scale Israeli attack in Gaza is too risky, given the large number of innocent Palestinian civilians likely to be killed or wounded.”

At the same time, Forman added, it’s not surprising to see caution regarding any ground operation “as there would be in any military operations scenario presented with limited context.”

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