The poll, conducted by Pew Research, surveyed 12,574 Americans back in May to gauge U.S. public opinion about international politics and culture.
In its findings, Pew said 44 percent of Muslim respondents expressed support for Hamas, and only 26 percent shared a similar view about Israel and its Jewish population.
Robert Spencer is a longtime Islamic watchdog and director of Jihad Watch. He told American Family News he believes support for Hamas is much higher than the poll suggests.
“A lot of them, who answered the poll, know not to be public about this kind of allegiance,” he said of the Muslim respondents.
Spencer, who has authored more than 30 books on Islam, has documented the spread of Jihad-following Islam in the West for decades. Based on that evidence, he calls it “nonsense” to believe most Muslims hold a moderate view on Islam and how they practice their faith.
“It's always been nonsense, but it's still the prevailing view,” he insisted.
One of the most brazen displays of support for Hamas came in 2010, at the University of California-San Diego. That is when Jewish author David Horowitz, who was invited to speak by a conservative student group, challenged a Muslim student to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah.
After the student deflected, complaining Horowitz was trying to make her look bad, Horowitz told the audience how Hezbollah has stated Jews should gather in Israel to make them easier to hunt down.
“For it or against it?" Horowitz suddenly asked the student.
"For it," the student, a member of the Muslim Student Association, coldly replied.
Spencer is a fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
Hamas, which traces its roots to Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood, has ruled the Gaza Strip as the de facto government since it won a majority of seats in legislative elections in 2006.
Viewing the state of Israel and its Jews as illegal “occupiers” on Muslim land, Hamas has been in a continuous war against Israel since its first major attack in June 2006 that surprised an army outpost.
The most murderous Hamas attack to date, however, is the well-planned October 2023 surprise attack called "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood."
That attack, which caught Israel off guard during two major Jewish holidays and the Sabbath, ended with more than 1,000 Israelis dead and hundreds more kidnapped back to Gaza.
Much of the Hamas attack targeted concert goers at a music festival located three miles from the Gaza border. In that slaughter alone, Hamas shot and killed more than 350 civilians and took 40 hostages.
Hamas attackers also filmed themselves murdering families, including newborn babies, but their defenders have praised the attack, comparing Hamas to French Resistance fighters fighting their Nazi occupiers.
Bob Maginnis, a national defense analyst, told AFN he agrees with Spencer’s warning about Muslims.
“These people are proselytizing hatred of anyone that doesn't abide by their radical view of the world,” Maginnis said. “So we need to recognize that's what we're dealing with."
