U.S. Jews Oppose Pal. State, Re-Dividing Jerusalem – Opposite of J Street

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has exposed the fraudulence of the claim made by the extremist leftwing, George Soros/Arab-funded J Street that it represents the majority of American Jews in its views and policies regarding Israel, the Palestinians and the Middle East. The ZOA has pointed to the detailed results in the 2011 American Jewish Committee (AJC) Survey of American Jewish Opinion showing that American Jews do not support J Street’s positions in favor of creating a Palestinian state; re-dividing Jerusalem; U.S. funding for Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA); opposing military action against Iran if it fails to stop its quest to obtain nuclear weapons, and so on.

Instead, the 2011 AJC Survey found that:

·         A majority of American Jews (55%) oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, whereas only 38% support its creation;

·         An overwhelming 76% of American Jews agree with the statement that ‘The goal of the Arabs is not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel,’ whereas only 19% disagree with it.

·         59% of American Jews oppose re-dividing Jerusalem in the context of an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty, while only 37% favor this course.

·         A majority of 53% disapprove of President Obama’s handling of U.S./Israel relations, whereas only 40% approved of his performance in this sphere.

·         Conversely, 54% of American Jews approved of the Netanyahu government’s handling of U.S./Israel relations, whereas only 32% disapproved.

·         An overwhelming 73% of American Jews favor the Congress withdrawing U.S. aid to Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) if it forms a unity government with Hamas, whereas only 21% would oppose this.

·         56% of American Jews favor the U.S. taking military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to halt its march towards acquiring nuclear weapons, whereas only 38% oppose this.

·         68% of American Jews favor Israel taking military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to halt its march towards acquiring nuclear weapons, whereas only 26% oppose this (AJC 2011 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion, September 6-21, 2011).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “This survey offers a detailed and devastating rebuttal to the totally false claims of J Street and other extremist leftwing activists masquerading as supporters of Israel that they represent the majority of American Jewry. When attacking ZOA and others with whom they disagree, J Street asks in its ads – ‘Do they speak for you?’ This poll clearly shows that ZOA speaks for American Jewry – not J Street.

“At the time of its establishment, J Street posted a video showing me speaking against the establishment of a Palestinian state, arguing that this does not represent the majority of American Jews. We now know that the positions of ZOA best reflect the positions of American Jews – J Street does not.

“If most American Jews oppose establishing a Palestinian state; if three-quarters of American Jewry believe that the Arabs seek to destroy Israel; if most American Jews do not want to divide Jerusalem, even in return for a permanent peace agreement, and if most American Jews support either American or Israeli military action to stop Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, then most American Jews clearly do not support the positions espoused by J Street.

“At the time of its establishment, J Street posted a video showing me speaking against the establishment of a Palestinian state, arguing that this does not represent the majority of American Jews. We now know that the positions of ZOA best reflect the positions of American Jews – J Street does not.

“It is remarkable that, when the Obama Administration, most countries and the world’s media and academe (and even Israel with conditions), are supporting the dangerous notion of establishing a Palestinian state under current conditions, less than half of American Jews support the idea because they understand the dangers such a state would pose to Israel. American Jews understand that such a state would mean a terror state on Israel’s longest border, increasing danger and creating the possibility of rockets slamming into Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.”