Survey finds most Canadianssupportboth Israel's existence and a futurePalestinian state

More than eight months into a war between Israel and Hamas that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands ofpeople, most Canadians say they support both Israel's existence and a future Palestinian state, according to a new survey.

The survey by Innovative Research Group, a public opinion research and consultation firm,also found Canadians broadly agree with demonstrators' right to free speech even if they're not entirely happy with the way those protests have played out.

"What we found overall was a lot of moderation, a lot of willingness to accept political differences, but no willingness to accept violence or political violence, and very little willingness to accept protest activities that create disruption," said Greg Lyle, president of Innovative Research Group.

The survey was conducted online betweenMay 16 and May 28 and surveyed 1,872 adult Canadians for a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

Roughly 52 per cent of those surveyed agreed with the statement: "It is important for Israel to exist as a Jewish state." About49 per cent agreed that"it is important to create a state for Palestinians."

Another 57 per cent said theysupport bothpublic speech that supports Israel's right to exist and speech that supports Palestinians getting their own state.

That support started to dip when respondents were asked about protests on university campuses.

Some 38 per cent said they opposepro-Israelencampments "where student-protesters gather but do not interfere with education activities." A higher percentage 64 per cent said they opposepro-Israeli protests on campus "that create a disruption, including occupying school buildings."

Similarly, 37 per cent of respondents said they opposepro-Palestinian encampments that do not interfere with student activities, while 63 per cent said they'reagainst disruptive pro-Palestinian campus protests.

The survey comes aspro-Palestinian protest camps remain in place on various university campuses. The University of Toronto and McGill University have both sought injunctions to clear the camps. Ajudge rejected McGill's request last month, while the U of T's application is still before a court.

Seventy-seven per cent of those surveyed rejected any speech that callsfor violence against Jews, and 76per cent rejectedrhetoric calling for violence against Muslims.

No questions asked about Hamas, Israeli government

The survey did not ask questions about Hamas or the current political leadership in Israel.

"Our interest was how should we be talking about [the conflict] and how should we treat each other," Lyle said.

He said he was glad to see the low tolerance for violent speech in the survey.

"I think you can take heart that the extreme actions that have been taken against both [Muslims and Jews] are not reflective of where the average Canadian comes from, and they're actually very supportive of your individual rights and the need for you to be treated fairly and with dignity," he said.

Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups have raised concerns about a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since the war began on October 7, 2023.

The Israel-Hamas warbegan when Hamas-ledmilitants crossedthe border and attackedIsraelon Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage, according toIsraeli tallies.

TheIsraeli offensive has killed almost 37,600 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The survey was conducted on behalf of the Provocation Ideas Festival. CBC Radio host Nahlah Ayedand Executive Director of the Samara Centre for Democracy Sabreena Delhon, who frequently contributes to CBC Radio, sit on its board of directors,but are not involved in any of the polling conducted by the festival.