Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria
A new poll has shown that found that only a tiny minority of Israelis – 6 percent – regard the Obama Administration to be pro-Israel, whereas 50 percent believe it to be pro-Palestinian. When asked their opinion about the Obama Administration policies towards the region, 50 percent of those sampled regarded these as more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israeli. The Smith Research poll, sponsored by the Jerusalem Post, also found that more than two-thirds of Israelis – 69 percent – oppose freezing construction within large Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, like Gush Etzion, Ma’aleh Adumim and Ariel, whereas only 27 percent of Israelis support the idea (Gil Hoffman, ‘6% see US administration as pro-Israel,’ Jerusalem Post, June 19, 2009).
These latest findings are consistent with two other recent polls: a Magaar Mochot poll this month also showed that Israelis support by 56 percent to 37 percent 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. That poll also found that Israelis oppose by 51 percent to 34 percent 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).
They are also reflected in a Dahaf Institute poll, sponsored by the major Israeli daily, Yediot Ahronot, which found that 53 percent of Israelis believe that President Obama’s policies are not good for Israel, as against only 26 percent who think that they are. It also found that 51 percent of Israelis believe that President Obama cares more about Palestinian desires for statehood than Israel’s security, as opposed to only 22 percent who believe the opposite (Gil Hoffman, ‘Poll: 26% think Obama’s policies bad for Israel,’ Jerusalem Post, June 8, 2009).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “There is little doubt that these poll numbers show Israelis to be overwhelmingly of the view that the Obama Administration is hostile to Israel in its policies and that they are opposed to freezing Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria. Within the space of a few weeks, several polls have clearly indicated these things.
“It is also instructive to note the rapid change that has come over Israeli opinion in just a matter of a month. It was as recently as May 17, on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting in Washington with President Barack Obama, that 31 percent of Israelis were found to regard the Obama Administration as pro-Israel, as opposed to merely 14 percent who regarded it as pro-Palestinian and 40 percent who regarded it as neutral. Obama’s June 4 Cairo speech would appear to have greatly concerned Israelis.
“The 31 percent of Israelis who were confident of the Obama Administration’s pro-Israeli posture has now fallen to a mere 6 percent. I can’t remember such a major fluctuation of Israeli opinion on a key political question in such a short space of time. At any rate, it is clear that the Obama Administration’s strident public pressure upon America’s ally Israel and lack of pressure on the Palestinian Authority has justifiably led most Israelis to be deeply concerned.”