A new poll has shown that Israelis are overwhelmingly of the view that President Barack Obama’s impending nuclear deal with Iran will hurt Israel. According to a New Wave poll, conducted for the newspaper, Yisrael Hayom, 48% of Israelis believe President Obama’s nuclear  deal with Iran will prove to be harmful to Israel, while only 13% of Israelis thought it would not, while 39% were undecided on the matter (‘New Wave Poll:  48%:13% President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran will hurt Israel,’ Independent Media and Review Analysis, October 24, 2014).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “It is clear from this poll result and others we cite below that Israelis have very little confidence that President Obama supports basic Israeli interests. 

“Israelis know that since the Geneva agreement in November 2013, Iran’s nuclear program has not been halted or even partially rolled back, that Iran’s centrifuges are still spinning, that inspections of its facilities are only partial and do not cover every potential Iranian nuclear weapons site. 

“They know that Iran has enjoyed massive sanctions relief, thus weakening any leverage the U.S. or anyone else might have on Iran to force them to abandon their nuclear weapons program. 

“They also know that President Obama has placed tremendous pressure on Congress not even to table tougher sanctions in the event that Iran breaches the Geneva agreement or fails to reach a nuclear deal. 

“In these circumstances, why would Israelis be confident that President Obama will act to prevent Iran going nuclear.

This latest New Wave poll finding is consistent with past surveys that have shown the Israel public to be deeply skeptical of President Obama’s Middle East policies in general and policy towards Iran in particular:

• November 2010: A joint Saban Center for Middle East Policy – Dahaf Institute survey of Israeli Jewish opinion found that 51% of Israeli Jews have a negative view of President Obama (15% very negative), while only 41% have a positive view of him (5% very positive). (Saban Center for Middle East Policy – Dahaf Institute 2010 Israeli Jewish Public Opinion Survey).

• April 2010: A Shvakim Panorama poll for Israel Television Channel 1 found that Israelis oppose President Barack Obama’s policy of demanding a freeze on Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem by an overwhelming 72% to 22%; Israelis blame President Obama for tensions in the U.S.-Israel relationship (59%), whereas only 16% blame Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu; 61% of Israelis believe that Obama interested in improving relations with the Arab states at the expense of Israel, whereas only 27% believe that he is not (‘Poll: Israelis oppose freeze, blame Obama for tension, think Obama turning to Arabs at expense of Israel,’ Independent Media Review Analysis, April 25, 2010).

• August 2009: A Smith Research poll found that only 4% of Israelis regard the Obama Administration’s policies as pro-Israel, as against 51% who believe them to be pro-Arab and 35% who believe them to be neutral (Gil Hoffman, ‘4% of Israelis say Obama pro-Israel,’ Jerusalem Post, August 27, 2009). 

• June 2009: A Smith Research poll found that only a tiny minority of Israelis – 6% – regard the Obama Administration to be pro-Israel, whereas 50% believe it to be pro-Palestinian, while 36% regard it as neutral between the two sides (Gil Hoffman, ‘6% see US administration as pro-Israel,’ Jerusalem Post, June 19, 2009). 

• June 2009: A Maagar Mohot Survey Institute poll showed Israelis support by 56% to 37% Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repudiation of President Barack Obama’s demand that Israel freeze all Jewish construction and growth in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. The poll also found Israelis oppose (51% to 34%) Netanyahu acceding to Obama’s reported demand that Israel abandon the settlement blocs as part of an agreement with the Palestinians (‘Maagar Mochot Poll finds Israelis want PM Netanyahu to reject President Obama’s demands,’ Independent Media & Review Analysis, June 11, 2009).

• June 2009: A Dahaf Institute poll sponsored by Yediot Ahronot found that 53% of Israelis believed President Obama’s policies were not good for Israel, as against only 26% who thought they were; 51% believed that Obama cares more about Palestinian desires for statehood than Israel’s security, as opposed to only 22% who believed the opposite; and 51% were disappointed with Obama’s polices, while 41% were not (Gil Hoffman, ‘Poll: 26% think Obama’s policies bad for Israel,’ Jerusalem Post, June 8, 2009). 

• June 2009: The War and Peace Index poll of the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Evens Program in Mediation and Conflict Resolution found that 55% of Israelis believe that President Obama leans in favor of Palestinians, as against only 5% who believe he favors Israel’s stance, with 31% feel he is neutral. Also, 60 percent of Israelis do not trust Obama to consider and protect Israel’s interests during his efforts to improve relations between America and the Muslim word (‘60% of Israelis don’t trust Obama,’ Yediot Ahronot, June 4, 2009).