A new poll has shown that only 16% of Israelis believe President Barack Obama’s Administration is more pro-Israel than pro-Palestinian. The poll, conducted by Smith Research, which was taken shortly after reports that an unnamed official in the Obama Administration had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “chickens..t,” also found that 53% consider the administration more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israel, 20% called it neutral, and 11% did not express an opinion (‘“Post” poll finds significant drop in Israelis’ view of Obama,’ Jerusalem Post, October 30, 2014).

This is consistent with a long pattern of survey findings from within the fist year of the Obama Administration:

• March 2013: A Smith Research poll found that that 36% of Israelis considered the Obama Administration more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israel, 26% said it was more pro-Israel than pro- Palestinian, and 26% said it was neutral (‘“Post” poll: Obama lacks support among Israelis,’ Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2013).

• 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). The poll also found that Barack Obama is second on the list of foreign leaders most disliked by Israelis, with 10% of Israelis disliking him, placing him second only behind Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (41%), as well as being third on the list of most liked foreign leaders, polling 5% behind Germany’s Angela Merkel (9%) and Bill Clinton (8%) (Saban Center for Middle East Policy – Dahaf Institute 2010 Israeli Jewish Public Opinion Survey).

• September 2010: A Dahaf poll conducted for Israel TV’s Channel Two on September 28, 2010 showed that a clear majority of Israelis – 54% – oppose extending the December 2009 unilateral 10-month freeze upon Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria that the Netanyahu Government imposed under strong pressure from the Obama Administration. In contrast, only 39% of Israelis were prepared to support a continuation of this unilateral freeze (‘Poll: Israelis oppose extending freeze 54%:39%,’ Independent Media Review & Analysis, October 3, 2010).

• June 2010: B’nai B’rith B’nai B’rith World Center Annual Survey on Contemporary Israeli Attitudes Toward Diaspora Jewry found that 65% of Israelis believe that American Jews should criticize President Obama’s policy towards Israel, as opposed to a mere 12% of Israelis who believe that American Jews should support Obama’s policy (‘B’nai B’rith B’nai B’rith World Center Annual Survey on Contemporary Israeli Attitudes Toward Diaspora Jewry, June 2010’).

• 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 the current 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).

• December 2009: A Palestinian Center for Survey Research showed that President Barack Obama is regarded as more supportive of Palestinians by 37% of Israelis, as against a mere 13%  who believe him to be to be more supportive of Israel (‘Joint Israeli Palestinian Poll, December 2009,’ Palestinian Center for Survey Research, December 22, 2009).

• 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. (The 4% figure marks a new low for Israeli confidence in the Obama Administration, the previous low having been a finding of a mere 6% in June). The poll also found that 50% of Israelis oppose a one-year agreement with the U.S. to freeze Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria, as against 41% who would agree to it (Gil Hoffman, ‘4% of Israelis say Obama pro-Israel,’ Jerusalem Post, August 27, 2009). 

• June 2009: A Smith Research poll found 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. When asked their opinion about Obama Administration policies towards the region, 50% of those sampled regarded the policies of Obama’s administration as more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israeli, while 36% regarded them as neutral (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% 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).