A majority of American college students blame Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and two-thirds describe the attack as an act of terrorism by Hamas, according to a Generation Lab poll of two- and four-year college students. The findings come as debates over the attack — which killed more than 1,400 in Israel, and which prompted by an Israeli response killing more than 2,800 in Gaza — have roiled college campuses across the county, with some students garnering national attention for blaming Israel’s treatment of Palestinians for the attack. The poll finds 86% of college students saying they’re aware of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. And of that share, 67% describe the attack as an act of terrorism by Hamas, versus 12% who see it as a justified act of resistance by Hamas. Another 21% describe it as something else other than an act of terrorism or resistance. More than half, 52%, of the college students who say they’re aware of the Oct. 7 attack blame it on Hamas. Another 11% blame it on Israel, 12% blame it on other Middle Eastern governments and another 25% blame it on someone else
