In a recent poll conducted by the Siena College Research Institute, the majority of New Yorkers expressed that they support police shutting down pro-Hamas demonstrations that have wreaked havoc on college campuses in recent weeks.
According to the New York Post, Siena College surveyed 1,191 registered voters from May 13-15, asking them a series of 42 questions. The survey was conducted after the riot at Columbia University earlier this month.
In the survey, 61 percent of registered voters in the Big Apple agreed that pro-Hamas protestors have “forgotten that Hamas started the war,” and that their demonstrations have reached the level of “ant-Semitism.”
Seventy percent of registered voters also said they support the police shutting down protests that have become too disorderly and destructive.
Although most New Yorkers have shown distaste for the most unhinged pro-Hamas encampments being set up, 72 percent of voters said they still support the idea of students “peacefully demonstrating in support of those suffering in Gaza.”
In a similar question, 62 percent of voters said they agree with pro-Hamas protesters' — and the Biden administration's — support of an “immediate ceasefire" that would allow Hamas to survive the war it started with its massacre on October 7.
When asked if they thought New York State is on the right track or headed in the wrong direction, 62 percent of voters said they believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, and 69 percent of voters described the fiscal condition of the state in a negative manner.
The results of the poll also showcase how the voters are feeling heading into the presidential election. Despite New York long being a deep blue state, 47 percent of voters said they would choose President Biden as the next presidential candidate, whereas 38 percent of voters said they would choose Donald Trump.
“In a state that hasn’t voted for the GOP candidate for president since Ronald Reagan 40 years ago, and where Democrats hold a 26-point enrollment advantage over Republicans, Biden only leads Trump – whose negative favorability rating is not much worse than Biden’s – by a ‘narrow’ nine points,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.