“Amalek,” Genocide, and Jewish Israeli Public Opinion: Continuity and Amplification
Introduction
As the world debates whether Israel’s war in Gaza constitutes genocide, a new wave of polling data reveals a disturbing reality: support for extreme violence against Palestinians is not limited to Israel’s government or far-right fringe, but is widespread among Jewish Israelis themselves. To understand the roots and implications of this phenomenon, it is essential to examine both the deep historical currents of anti-Arab sentiment in Israeli society and the powerful amplification of such attitudes following the trauma of October 7, 2023.
The “Amalek” Frame: From Biblical Command to Modern Policy
In March 2025, a Penn State University survey—published in Hebrew by Haaretz—asked Jewish Israelis if they supported the Israeli army “acting as the Israelites did at Jericho,” i.e., killing all inhabitants of a conquered enemy city. Nearly half (47%) said yes. This “Amalek” framing is not accidental: it echoes Prime Minister Netanyahu’s own rhetoric, as well as that of other Israeli leaders, who invoked the biblical command to destroy Amalek as a justification for the war on Gaza. As the AP and Mother Jones reported, South Africa cited Netanyahu’s Amalek reference at the International Court of Justice as evidence of genocidal intent, noting that IDF soldiers were filmed chanting “wipe out the seed of Amalek” as they entered Gaza.
The same poll found 82% of Jewish Israelis support the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, and 56% support expelling Palestinian citizens of Israel. Even among secular Jews—often assumed to be more liberal—70% supported expulsion from Gaza, and 38% supported expelling Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Continuity: Pre-10/7 Attitudes
It would be a mistake to see these attitudes as purely a product of post-10/7 trauma. As Shibley Telhami summarized in a 2016 Brookings analysis of Pew polling, 48% of Jewish Israelis agreed that “Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel.” This was not a fringe view: majorities of every non-secular Jewish group, and even a significant minority of secular Jews, agreed. The Pew data also found that most Jewish Israelis believe Jews should have preferential rights in Israel, and that Jewish identity takes precedence over Israeli civic identity for the overwhelming majority—views that have long underpinned exclusionary and supremacist attitudes.
Owen Jones and others (including Finkelstein, Chomsky, and Avi Shlaim) argue that these attitudes are deeply rooted in the very foundations of Israeli political Zionism, from the Stern Gang and Ben Gurion to Likud and present-day policies. They see the present crisis not as a sudden aberration, but as the logical outgrowth of a state and society built on Jewish ethno-nationalism and the marginalization—and often dehumanization—of Palestinians.
Amplification: The Shock of October 7
Yet, as Gideon Levy argues in his March 2024 Haaretz op-ed, something did change after October 7. The Hamas attack was a profound shock, unleashing a wave of anger, fear, and desire for revenge that swept across Israeli society—including its liberal and left-leaning segments. Levy describes how even the “camp of conscience and humanity” in Israel “shut off and stored away” its moral compass, justifying or ignoring the horrors inflicted on Gaza in the name of national trauma. He pleads with his fellow Israelis to “sober up from the sobering up,” warning that the catastrophe of October 7 should not have “turned [their] moral principles inside out.”
Levy’s analysis is echoed by genocide scholars like Omer Bartov, who—while acknowledging the long history of anti-Palestinian sentiment—emphasize the unprecedented intensity and explicitness of calls for violence and collective punishment since October 7. The trauma acted as an amplifier, making previously latent or private hatreds both public and normalized.
Continuity and Amplification: A Synthesis
Both perspectives are essential. The polling data shows that exclusionary and even violent attitudes toward Palestinians have deep roots in Israeli Jewish society, and are not simply the product of recent events. At the same time, the events of October 7 and the subsequent war have dramatically intensified and legitimized these sentiments, pushing them from the margins to the mainstream.
The “Amalek” framing is the perfect symbol of this convergence: a biblical command that has always lurked in the background of Israeli political rhetoric, now openly invoked by leaders and embraced by nearly half the public as a justification for total war.
Implications
These findings challenge the comforting narrative—prevalent in much Western media—that the problem lies only with Netanyahu or the far right. The reality is more troubling: support for atrocities is broad, crossing lines of religiosity, age, and political affiliation. As the ICJ and ICC weigh charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, and as Western governments reassess their support for Israel, understanding the true extent and roots of public support for these policies is essential.
Conclusion
The new polling data is a wake-up call. It reveals not just the depth of Israeli Jewish support for policies that meet the definition of ethnic cleansing and genocide, but also the power of trauma and religious narrative to justify atrocity in the present. As the world debates how to respond, we must confront not just the actions of a government, but the beliefs of a society—both their historical roots and their present amplification.
Sources:
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Middle East Eye, “Nearly half of Israelis support army killing all Palestinians in Gaza, poll finds,” May 24, 2025.
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Pew Research Center, “Israel’s Religiously Divided Society,” 2016.
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Mother Jones, “As It Formally Accuses Israel of Genocide, South Africa Condemns Netanyahu’s Amalek Reference,” Jan. 11, 2024.
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Associated Press, “South Africa Condemns Netanyahu’s Amalek Reference at Genocide Hearings,” Jan. 2024.
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Gideon Levy, “Israeli Leftists: Shake Off the Shock of October 7 and Open Your Eyes to Gaza,” Haaretz, Mar. 13, 2024.
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Shibley Telhami, “How Israel’s Jewishness is overtaking its democracy,” Brookings, Mar. 11, 2016.
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Owen Jones, YouTube video and transcript, May 23, 2025.
OR DRAFT 2 (below)
“Amalek,” Genocide, and Israeli Jewish Public Opinion: The Poll That Shocks the World
Introduction
As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) weighs charges of genocide against Israel, a new poll published in Hebrew by Haaretz in spring 2025 reveals something even more alarming than government policy: widespread public support among Jewish Israelis for the most extreme forms of violence against Palestinians, including exterminationist measures. The poll’s biblical framing—referencing the command to destroy Amalek—directly echoes the rhetoric used by Israeli leaders and cited by South Africa as evidence of genocidal intent at the ICJ. This post examines the poll, its context, and its implications for understanding both the roots and the current intensity of anti-Palestinian sentiment in Israel.
The “Amalek” Frame: From Rhetoric to Public Opinion
The “Amalek” reference is not just a rhetorical flourish. In November 2023, Prime Minister Netanyahu told Israeli troops preparing to invade Gaza:
“You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember.”
As the Associated Press and Mother Jones reported, this biblical command—“Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings”—was cited by South Africa at the ICJ as evidence of genocidal intent. Israeli soldiers were filmed chanting about “wiping out the seed of Amalek” as they entered Gaza.The new 2025 poll, conducted by Pennsylvania State University and published in Haaretz (Hebrew), asked Jewish Israelis if they supported the army “acting as the Israelites did at Jericho”—that is, killing all inhabitants of a conquered enemy city. Nearly half (47%) said yes.
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82% supported the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza.
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56% supported expelling Palestinian citizens of Israel.
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Even among secular Jews, 70% supported expulsion from Gaza, and 38% supported expelling Palestinian citizens of Israel.
This is not just a fringe phenomenon. The biblical logic of total destruction—once the preserve of the far right—has gone mainstream.
Continuity: Deep Roots of Anti-Palestinian Sentiment
It would be a mistake to see these attitudes as a sudden post-October 7 aberration. As Shibley Telhami summarized in a 2016 Brookings analysis of Pew polling, 48% of Jewish Israelis agreed that “Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel.” Majorities of every non-secular Jewish group, and a significant minority of secular Jews, agreed.
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Most Jewish Israelis believe Jews deserve “preferential treatment” in Israel (Pew, 2016).
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The overwhelming majority say their Jewish identity takes precedence over civic identity.
This is the context in which the current crisis has unfolded. As analysts like Owen Jones, Norman Finkelstein, Noam Chomsky, and Avi Shlaim have long argued, these attitudes are deeply rooted in the foundations of Israeli political Zionism and have shaped policy and society for decades.
Amplification: The Shock of October 7
Yet, as Gideon Levy argues in his March 2024 Haaretz op-ed, October 7 was a turning point. The Hamas attack triggered a wave of anger, fear, and desire for revenge that swept across Israeli society, including its liberal and left-leaning segments. Levy describes how even the “camp of conscience and humanity” in Israel “shut off and stored away” its moral compass, justifying or ignoring the horrors inflicted on Gaza in the name of national trauma. He pleads with his fellow Israelis to “sober up from the sobering up,” warning that catastrophe should not have “turned [their] moral principles inside out.”
Genocide scholar Omer Bartov and others agree: the trauma of October 7 acted as an amplifier, making latent hatreds public and normalized.
The ICJ, Global Debate, and Why the Poll Matters
The “Amalek” rhetoric is now central to the legal case against Israel. As Megan Stack wrote in a New York Times op-ed (Jan. 12, 2024):
“The words of Israeli officials are being offered as evidence of intent: from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging Israelis to ‘remember’ the Old Testament account of the carnage of Amalek (‘Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings,’ reads one passage) to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowing that ‘Gaza won’t return to what it was before. There will be no Hamas. We will eliminate everything’ to the minister of energy and infrastructure pledging, ‘They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave this world.’ By speaking openly about destroying Gaza and dispersing its residents, Israeli leaders have publicized what has, in other cases of genocide, been hidden or denied.”
The new polling data shows that this is not just about leaders or the far right. Support for atrocities is broad, crossing lines of religiosity, age, and political affiliation. As the ICJ and ICC weigh charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, and as Western governments reassess their support for Israel, understanding the true extent and roots of public support for these policies is essential.
Conclusion
The new polling data is a wake-up call. It reveals not just the depth of Israeli Jewish support for policies that meet the definition of ethnic cleansing and genocide, but also the power of trauma and religious narrative to justify atrocity in the present. As the world debates how to respond, we must confront not just the actions of a government, but the beliefs of a society—both their historical roots and their present amplification.
Key Sources:
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Middle East Eye, “Nearly half of Israelis support army killing all Palestinians in Gaza, poll finds,” May 24, 2025.
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Pew Research Center, “Israel’s Religiously Divided Society,” 2016.
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Mother Jones, “As It Formally Accuses Israel of Genocide, South Africa Condemns Netanyahu’s Amalek Reference,” Jan. 11, 2024.
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Associated Press, “South Africa Condemns Netanyahu’s Amalek Reference at Genocide Hearings,” Jan. 2024.
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New York Times, Megan K. Stack, “Don’t Turn Away From the Charges of Genocide Against Israel,” Jan. 12, 2024.
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Gideon Levy, “Israeli Leftists: Shake Off the Shock of October 7 and Open Your Eyes to Gaza,” Haaretz, Mar. 13, 2024.
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Shibley Telhami, “How Israel’s Jewishness is overtaking its democracy,” Brookings, Mar. 11, 2016.
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