A new poll has shown that nearly three-quarters – 73% – of Jerusalem’s residents (including Israeli Arabs) oppose the division of the city with physical barriers, as opposed to only 27% who would be willing to support it (Israeli Arabs comprise roughly 30% of Jerusalem’s population). The poll of a representative sample of 507 adult Israelis (including Arab Israelis) carried out by Maagar Mohot Survey Institute (headed by Professor Yitzchak Katz for Israel Radio’s “It’s all Talk”) the afternoon was carried out on July 23, 2008, the day of Senator Obama’s arrival in Israel (‘Polls: 73%:27% Jerusalem residents oppose physical separation in city in wake of attacks,’ Independent Media Review & Analysis, July 24, 2008).

Other recent polls showing Israelis opposing territorial concessions:

·        An October 2007 Brains’ Trust (Maagar Mochot) Research Institute poll shows 53 percent of Israelis oppose U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority (PA), only 16 percent support it.

·        An October 2007 Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Evens Program in Mediation and Conflict Resolution of Tel Aviv University poll has shown that a clear majority of Jewish Israelis – 59 percent to 33 percent – oppose, even in return for a peace agreement, Israel handing over to the PA various Arab neighborhoods in the eastern half of Jerusalem.

·        A May 2007 Dahaf Institute poll for the Knesset Channel found 68 percent of Israelis oppose withdrawing from the Golan Heights and that 53 percent oppose withdrawals from Judea and Samaria, in both cases, even in return for a “real peace.”

·        A March 2007 INSS (previously Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies) poll showed that 72 percent of Israelis oppose uprooting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and 71 percent believe that the Palestinian Arabs’ goal is destroying Israel, not a peaceful Palestinian state alongside Israel. It also showed only 28 percent of Israelis support the ‘land for peace’ formula, 58 percent oppose it.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “This latest poll shows that the segment of the Israeli population that would stand to be most drastically affected by territorial concessions and re-division of Jerusalem is opposed to these by a decisive margin. Nor did any other category of voters show a majority in favor of such steps.

“These results are important because they build upon the clear picture that has emerged in recent years that the Israeli public opposes further concessionary policies towards Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA).  Many developments in recent years – the election of Hamas, the incessant barrage of rockets from territory evacuated by Israel in Gaza, the assaults and kidnappings from both Gaza and southern Lebanon and the smuggling in of massive amounts of offensive weaponry into Gaza by terrorists has persuaded the Israeli public that the Palestinian Arabs do not seek peace, that they continue to wage terrorism and incite their youth to hatred and murder of Jews in response to Israeli concessions, and that uprooting Jewish communities is no solution to these problems.

“In short, Israelis are no longer fooled by the false promises of Palestinians and understand now that their goal is Israel‘s destruction, as it was when the Oslo process.”