Joe Biden's Israel Stance is Winning Over Younger Voters

The number of younger voters who back President Joe Biden over his stance on Israel has increased.

According to new polling conducted exclusively for Newsweek by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, the proportion of people aged between 18 and 42 who support the president's response to the war has increased by 5 percentage points since October.

On October 7, Hamas launched surprise attacks on Israel, which prompted the Israelis to carry out extensive airstrikes and a ground offensive against militants in Gaza.

The U.S. has long been an ally of Israel and, following the attacks, Biden reiterated Washington's support. He said that Israel has the right to defend itself, proposing $14 billion in aid and providing weapons. He has also resisted calls for a ceasefire.

Since then there have been concerns Biden is losing the support of his youngest voters. A Quinnipiac University poll released in November found that those under 35 are more likely to disapprove of Israel's response to the attack with 66 percent reporting so.

Meanwhile, in a letter first obtained by NBC News, more than 40 interns who work at the White House and other branches of the executive office called for Biden to support a ceasefire, accusing him of having ignored the "pleas of the American people" by not calling for an end to the war.

Nancy Pelosi also said Biden was "taking a hit" for his response to the conflict at a recent press conference.

But despite these reports, the Newsweek polling has painted a more nuanced picture.

It found that 42 percent of Gen Z voters (aged 18-26) and 48 percent of millennials (aged 27-42) said they agree with how Biden has responded to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Meanwhile, 24 percent of Gen Z voters said they disapprove of his response while 25 percent of millennials disapprove.

When the question was asked in October, 37 percent of Gen Z voters and 34 percent of millennials said they approved of Biden's response while 30 percent of Gen Z voters and 35 percent of millennials said they disapproved of it.

The latest polling was conducted on December 8. The sample size was 1,500.

Across all age groups surveyed, 39 percent said they approved while 33 percent disapproved of how Biden has responded to the war, with 18 percent saying they strongly approved and 21 percent saying they approved.

This represents a 2 percentage point increase from when polling was last conducted on October 29, when 37 percent said they approved of his response while 35 percent disapproved.

Over the weeks that the war has been raging, Biden, while maintaining the White House's unwavering support for Israel, has adopted sterner language towards Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Tuesday, Biden told a campaign fundraising event that Netanyahu's government is "starting to lose support" and that changes need to be made in light of the mounting death toll in Gaza.

As of Tuesday, officials in the Hamas-led territory estimate more than 20,000 Palestinian casualties, according to the Associated Press. About 1,200 Israelis died in the attacks by militant Palestinian groups on southern Israel on October 7.

Netanyahu's government "is making it very difficult for the world" to continue backing Israel, Biden added. He referred to Netanyahu as a good friend who "has to change."

Speaking to Newsweek, Mark Shanahan an associate professor in politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K. said Biden's "stronger tone" was important.

"The rise in support among the young for Biden's line on the war between Israel and Hamas certainly reflects the president's stronger tone with Netanyahu," he said.

He continued: "America's young are a shade more conservative than their European peers and more naturally lean to support for Israel due to the shared Judeo-Christian tradition and pioneer heritage.

"But Milennials and Gen Z are both far less comfortable about embracing the actions of the Israeli state than their parents. The total war in Gaza has alienated many of America's younger adults and they're only slowly coming around to support of the president as he finally challenges Netanyahu's free rein on retribution."