Why Western Youth Are More Pro-Palestine Than Ever: Lessons from the Harbour Bridge March

On Sunday, August 3, the Sydney Harbour Bridge became the stage for one of the largest political demonstrations in recent Australian history. Tens of thousands marched in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, waving flags and chanting slogans as traffic came to a standstill.

New South Wales Police placed the crowd at roughly 90,000, while organisers from the Palestine Action Group claimed the number was far higher. Closer, in fact, to 300,000. Whatever the true figure may lie, the event was a striking show of public sentiment.

The march also served as vivid proof of a broader and increasingly commented-on trend: in the Western world, younger generations express far greater sympathy for Palestinians (and more hostility towards Israel) than their parents or grandparents. This gap is nothing new, but recent global events, combined with a shifting information environment, have made it impossible to ignore. It also begs the question: what has so fundamentally altered the dominant sentiment of an entire generation?

Changing Views

For much of the post–World War II era, Western political discourse around Israel–Palestine was shaped by two dominant forces:

1. The West’s role in Israel’s founding and its Cold War–era alliance structure.

2. A geopolitical framework that positioned Israel as a democratic ally in an eternally volatile region.

In this environment, public criticism of Israeli policy, especially in the United States, UK, and Australia, was a lot less prevalent in mainstream politics. Support for the Palestinian cause existed, but was generally confined to activist circles, left-wing political parties, or academic discourse rather than in the political spotlight.

Today, there has been a seismic shift. Large segments of Gen Z and younger Millennials no longer treat the Israel–Palestine question as some far-off, out-of-sight diplomatic issue. Instead, they place it alongside, and sometimes connect it with, other prominent causes like climate, Indigenous rights, racial equality, and anti-colonial movements.

The Generational Divide

Younger generations' views are almost the reverse of their elders'.

Surveys from multiple Western democracies highlight this change:

• United States (Gallup, 2025): For the first time in the poll’s history, less than half (46%) of Americans were sympathetic towards Israel. Generational differences were clearly visible in the data. Roughly half of respondents aged over 55 approved of Israel's actions in Gaza. For those under 35, that number was closer to just 10%.

• United Kingdom (YouGov, 2023): 18–24-year-olds significantly favoured Palestine, with 39% support, compared to just 11% for Israel. The results were almost perfectly mirrored in the over-65 demographic, with 37% support for Israel and 11% for Palestine.

• Australia (YouGov, 2024): Among 18-34 year olds, a majority of 61% want the government to do more to contribute to ending the conflict.

While polling on this topic is highly sensitive to timing considering the ongoing conflict, the pattern is consistent: youth are leaning ever-further toward the Palestinian perspective than older cohorts.

Possible Causes

1. Social Media’s Unfiltered Lens

Young people who grew up during the 2008 financial crisis, explosion of climate activism, and ever-increasing political polarisation tend to be more sceptical of institutional narratives, and are quicker to seek alternative sources of information to inform their views. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have disrupted the traditional role of legacy media and now serve as the sole or primary source of information for many.

For younger audiences, coverage of the Israel–Palestine conflict does not come solely through political leaders or established outlets. Instead, it is often seen via livestreams, short-form videos, and photo threads from Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel. This visual immediacy, often raw and unfiltered, creates a more visceral connection to events. Additionally, social media platforms are, undeniably, places where influencers and online personas exert significant sway over young minds, perhaps accounting for the mainstream nature of the shift.

2. Unified Modern Activism

Gen Z political culture rarely interprets global events in isolation, rather linking seemingly unrelated struggles under a shared narrative of activism. The Palestinian cause is increasingly discussed alongside Indigenous land rights, Black Lives Matter, climate justice, and refugee rights. For many young people, it has become another integral aspect of this unified suite of causes to which they adhere. In this context, solidarity becomes not only political but also a necessary for supposed moral consistency.

3. Shifts in Historical Context

Older generations understanding of Israel–Palestine is often, understandably, anchored in the historical trauma of the Holocaust, the post-war refugee crisis, and Cold War geopolitics. But today’s young adults did not experience these events directly. Rather, their formative political moments (such as the Arab Spring, Iraq War protests, or Black Lives Matter) orient them toward questioning power rather than reinforcing alliances. Decades of entanglement in wars has also predisposed many to oppose or question all forms of what may be seen as American involvement in the Middle East. In this case, that may lead to opposition to American support for Israel.

What This Means

The August 3 march in Sydney was more than symbolic theatre. In a political era where young people are less likely to join parties, mass demonstrations serve as a leading political outlet. Marches, sit-ins, and digital campaigns are often seen not as substitutes for formal politics, but as more effective and immediate tools for expressing solidarity and pressing for change.

The generational tilt toward the Palestinian cause will evidently have political consequences, and many of them. In democratic systems, sustained public opinion changes often precede shifts in party platforms, media framing, and foreign policy priorities over years and decades. Older generations still dominate voting rolls and political leadership. But that, like all things determined by age, will change. Demographic shift is inevitable, and has already begun. What are today younger voices will eventually command great electoral weight, potentially shifting our political landscape significantly.

In the end, the march was not just about one conflict or one moment or one issue. It was part of a broader realignment, a sign of the shift in how the next generation thinks, acts, and votes.