A new poll has shown that neither Americans as a whole nor American Jews approve of President Barack Obama’s policy towards Israel and the Palestinians. A Quinnipiac University survey released yesterday shows that 44% of the American public disapprove of the Obama policy towards Israel and the Palestinians, whereas only 35% approve of it, while American Jews disapprove of his policy by a massive 67% to 28%.
The survey also showed that two-thirds of people questioned in the survey say that the president should be a strong supporter of Israel but, by a 42% to 34% margin, voters say Obama is not a strong supporter of Israel (‘Senate Should Ratify Nuclear Disarmament Treaty, U.S. Voters Tell Quinnipiac University National Poll; Obama Not Strong Enough On Israel, Voters Say,’ Quinnipiac University survey, April 22, 2010).
Other polls showing strong support for Israel from U.S. public:
· February 2010 Israel Project survey found 56% of Americans say that U.S. should side with Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians, as opposed to 15% who believe the U.S. should side with the Palestinians against the Israelis, a margin of support for Israel of 8 to 1 (Israel Project Frequency Questionnaire, February 20-24, 2010).
· February 2010 Gallup Annual World Affairs survey found that, for the first time since 1991, more than 6 in 10 Americans — 63% — say their sympathies in the Middle East situation lie more with the Israelis than with the Palestinians, as against 15% who favored the Palestinians and 23% who favored both sides (Lydia Saad, ‘Support for Israel in U.S. at 63%, Near Record High,’ Gallup, February 24, 2010).
· Israel Project survey, December 2009 found that 61% of Americans support the United States coming to the military defense of Israel if it strikes Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran retaliates; more than two-thirds of Americans – 68% – support the United States coming to Israel’s military defense if Iran uses Hamas and Hezbollah to strike Israel, and Israel then attacks Iran in response (Israel Project December National Survey, December 14-16, 2009).
· September 2009 Israel Project poll showed 59% of Americans describing themselves either as a “strong supporter of Israel” or a “supporter of Israel,” as opposed to just 8% who describe themselves as supporting the Palestinians’; Americans support by 72% to 23% Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that “Israel would not build any new settlements in the West Bank, but that Israel must be allowed to accommodate natural growth of existing settlements” (Israel Project poll, Aug. 22-25, 2009, conducted by Neil Newhouse, a Republican, of Public Opinion Strategies, and Stanley Greenberg, a Democrat, of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, ‘U.S. poll shows strong Israel support,’ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, September 7, 2009).
- June 2009 Rasmussen poll showed that 35% percent of Americans believe that Obama is not supportive enough of Israel, whereas only 10 percent believe that he is too supportive, while 48 percent think he has the balance right (‘Toplines – Israel & Palestine – June 21-22, 2009,’ Rasmussen National Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters Conducted June 21-22, 2009).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “This poll has significant and powerful results. It shows that the American public, which still gives President Obama a small plurality of support for his overall foreign policy, clearly disagrees with his policy towards Israel.
“In terms of overall American attitudes, these results are consistent with past high levels of support for Israel and low levels of support for Palestinians, as the figures cited above amply confirm.
“This poll also shows that American Jews, despite historically strong support for Democratic presidents, nonetheless overwhelmingly disapprove of Obama’s actual policies towards Israel by more than a 2 to 1 margin.
“These results are consistent with the April 2010 McLaughlin & Associates poll, which shows that a plurality of 46% of American Jews say they would consider voting for someone else if Barack Obama runs for re-election in 2012, whereas 42% would vote for him and 12% registered no opinion – a striking result given the historic, overwhelming level of American Jewish support for Democratic presidents.
“After 15 months in office, American Jews have been given cause for deep concern about the President’s harsh policy towards Israel and indulgent one towards the Arab and Muslim worlds.
“Not only have Israel’s sworn enemies, like Iran and Syria, been courted; not only did the President inaccurately write off Jewish claims to statehood as some sort of consolation prize for the Holocaust in his June 2009 Cairo speech; not only have many of his Middle East advisers track records of hostility to Israel; not only has he coupled American commitment to Israel’s security with Israel ‘respecting’ the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians; but his Administration has condemned as ‘an insult to America’ Israel’s announcement that it will build homes for Jews in a Jewish neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem, while increasing aid to a Palestinian Authority that refuses to negotiate, make concessions or end terrorism or incitement to hatred and murder against Israel. American Jews appear to have noticed and are worried – with reason.”