Generation Z is equally as likely to describe Hamas as freedom fighters as terrorists, it has been revealed, as children as young as eight are being influenced into picking a side in the Gaza conflict.
A report from More in Common has found that Britons are, on the whole, not as divided on the conflict as it may appear and are sympathetic to both sides.
But those aged 18 to 24 are more likely to sympathise with the Palestinian side of the conflict.
Since Hamas’s deadly attack on October 7, protests and activism supporting Israelis and Palestinians have increased both online and on the streets.
But the More in Common report warns: “The way in which debates are playing out and being presented poses very real risks to both community relations and individuals’ safety in the UK.”
Young people in particular are being pressured by their peers to “take a side” on the conflict, the report claims, while some adults are starting to believe dangerous conspiracy theories about the conflict being promoted online and are “at risk of radicalisation”.
The report said the country as a whole had found itself horrified at the October attack, and concerned for civilians in both Israel and Gaza. It said the perceptions in Briton could not be divided into “stark binaries” because it “cedes discussions to those with the loudest voice and silences the views of the majority of Britons”.
However, it also found there are “pockets of sympathy” for Hamas, “which suggests a need to do more to tackle the risk of radicalisation as a result of the conflict”.
Twenty-four per cent of Gen Z would describe Hamas as freedom fighters and the same proportion would call them terrorists, the polling found. That age group also had the highest number of people saying they did not know which word was more appropriate.
More in Common also found younger people are particularly worried about saying the wrong thing about the conflict and say they have seen social media posts that “made them concerned that using a certain TikTok filter or shopping at coffee chains that Palestinian campaigners are trying to boycott, would mark them out as having taken a side”.
A third of 18 to 24-year-olds said they had had a “heated conversation or argument” with friends or family about the conflict, compared to one in ten Britons overall.
One young person said: “My brother supports Palestine and my dad supports Israel, so it’s kind of become a family feud … Everyone in my year [at school] is arguing about it online.”
A primary school teacher, who lives in Oxford, said: “[Social media] is promoting this radicalisation of children. It’s all over social media, a lot of it’s not factual. And you’ve got children of eight or nine years old who are saying, ‘I’m with the Palestinians’. And you’re thinking ‘You are eight or nine, how on earth do you know what they’ve said?’ They are so influenced.”
The Times previously reported that pro-Palestinian videos were being viewed at an extremely high rate by young people.
Luke Tryl, the More in Common director, said: “Young people in particular are being affected by the conflict. Many school children and students we spoke to told us they didn’t think their schools and universities were equipped to deal with the fallout from the conflict — either to tackle bullying or create space for discussing the conflict.”
The report also found that of those who say they have attended a rally or protest relating to the conflict, 35 per cent say “freedom fighters” is the best word to describe Hamas, compared with 20 per cent who would use the word “terrorist”.
“Again this suggests that those who have attended rallies are not reflective of the average Briton in terms of their perception of actions in the conflict,” the report said.
Thousands of children across the UK have also missed lessons to march through city centres demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
On Sunday Brendan Cox, the husband of the Labour MP Jo Cox who was killed in 2016, was involved in organising a peace vigil outside Downing Street to “speak out against both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate”.
There was also some evidence that the conflict had pushed Muslims into paying “serious attention” to conspiracy theories “such as the fact that the BBC was funded by Israel, or that anti-semitism was being exaggerated in the UK for political reasons”.
The report said: “This suggests a greater need for community leaders and groups as well as institutions such as mosques, schools, colleges and councils to provide a counter-narrative to those being pushed by extremists.”
More widely, 16 per cent of people say they sympathise more with the Israeli side and 18 per cent with the Palestinian side. But far more people — two thirds — sympathise with neither side, both sides equally, or aren’t sure which side they sympathise with more.
Tryl added: “Most of all, Britons are concerned about what the conflict means for community relations here in the UK, worried by a rise in antisemitism including attacks on Jewish businesses and intimidation of Jewish students, as well as far-right attempts to whip up anti-Muslim hate.”
