Fewer young Jewish Americans support Israel than older ones, and American Jews in general talk about the Jewish state with Gentiles infrequently, according to a poll the Israel Project released yesterday.

“American Jews remain strongly behind Israel overall, but there are disturbing signs that the support should shift in the wrong direction,” the renowned pollster who conducted the survey, Frank Luntz said.

Of the 800 American Jews Mr. Luntz questioned, 67% of those age 65 or older said they were strong supporters of Israel, compared to 53% of those between the ages of 18 and 29.That number has dwindled in the last 20 years, he said.

Mr. Luntz said parents should start talking about Israel to their children earlier.

“The earlier you are when you learn about Israel as a Jew, the more personally affiliated you are with the country, … the more that you feel towards it spiritually, that you feel towards it emotionally,” he said, adding that the earlier and more frequently people travel to Israel, the more kinship for the country they feel.

The poll also found that 61% of American Jews say they “personally talk about or defend Israel to non-Jewish people” a few times a year or less, including 43% who say they rarely or never do so. 32% say they do so at least once a month.

Parents were the first or second “most significant source in shaping [their] understanding of and opinions about Israel” for 45% of adult Jews. By contrast, 49% said “the media” was most important in shaping their opinions today.

Overall, 82% of those polled said they support Israel, of which 63% said they support the country “strongly.”

For the purpose of the survey, Mr. Luntz defined Jews as those who identified themselves as followers of the Jewish religion.