Amid the horrific stories emerging from the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, the world is desperately searching for moral clarity. So far, whether it can be found in the United States is an open question.

At a recent White House press briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre failed to address a question about the White House’s concern over surging incidents of antisemitism in the U.S. Instead, she incorrectly noted that Muslim Americans had experienced a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks.

Jean-Pierre’s staggering non sequitur was hardly reassuring to Jews. She opened her next press briefing 24 hours later by clarifying that she personally and the White House officially are opposed to antisemitism — and any other form of hate. But she failed to correct her misstatements on hate crimes.

Meanwhile, in scenes reminiscent of 1930s Germany, Jewish students attending Cooper Union College in New York City were locked in a library Wednesday night while antisemitic protesters threatened them with chants of “free Palestine” outside the library door and down the halls. Instead of a proper podium condemnation of antisemitism, the White House merely issued a statement to an Israeli newspaper from the deputy press secretary. The administration’s lackluster response is too little, too late.

To correct Jean-Pierre, the most recent FBI hate crimes data show that although Jews only make up 2% of the U.S. population, over half of religion-motivated hate crimes in 2022 (51%) targeted them. Muslims, on the other hand, make up just over 1% of the U.S. population, with 8% of hate crimes reportedly targeting them. Despite the administration’s apparent lack of concern for Jews, new polling shows that America continues to stand by the Jewish people.

Polling following the Hamas attack reveals that the public strongly supports Israel’s right to defend itself and believes protecting Israel is a key interest for the U.S. Polling also shows increased support for the Jewish state on both sides of the aisle. 

According to a recent Economist / YouGov poll, 7 in 10 Americans support providing aid to Israel, including 81% of Republicans and 74% of Democrats, while 41% say it would be a “good idea” to send Israel weapons if needed.

Americans recognize that Israel has a duty to protect its citizens, rescue the hostages, and destroy the threat posed by Hamas. Asked for opinions on Israel’s response to the Hamas attack, a plurality (35%) of registered voters said Israel’s retaliation has been “about right.” Interestingly, one-quarter went even further, saying Israel’s response has been “not harsh enough.” 

As for U.S. policy toward the Middle East, Americans believe it is either “very important” (42%) or “somewhat important” (29%) to protect Israel. This belief is starkly bipartisan: 80% of Republicans and 72% of Democrats feel protecting Israel is an important aspect of American policy. 

According to a separate poll by CNBC, Americans believe supporting Israel is more important than other geopolitical priorities. Roughly three-quarters (74%) of respondents say it is important that the U.S. fund military aid to Israel, outperforming border funding and foreign humanitarian aid (72% each), military aid for Ukraine (61%), and economic/military aid for Taiwan (52%).

As our Jewish friends suffer persecution and physical attacks here and abroad, it is heartening to see that most Americans rightly view our friendship with Israel as one worth keeping. As radicals on city streets and campuses enjoy the cowardice of too many authority figures who are failing to meet this moment, the public is rising to it. Our government must do the same.

Israel did not want this war. But the U.S. must now show moral clarity in helping our ally combat the genocidal terrorists of Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen, which are unified in their desire to extinguish the Jewish state. As we support Israel’s destruction of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, we must also provide the necessary Iron Dome defenses to keep Israeli civilians safe while encouraging regional economic and diplomatic normalization in the spirit of the Abraham Accords. And we must degrade the terror-sponsoring Iranian regime by maintaining and increasing robust sanctions.

What happened on Oct. 7 was a massacre of Jews. Americans must confront such evil with clear eyes and work with every ounce of our being to ensure that it never happens again.

Timothy Head is the executive director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition.