According to a new poll of Jewish Israelis commissioned by the Jerusalem Post, only 6% consider Obama to be Israel's friend.
The poll, which has a margin of error of 4.5%, was conducted among a representative sample of 500 Israeli Jewish adults this week, following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech in which he expressed his support for a demilitarized Palestinian state.
Another 50% of those sampled consider the policies of Obama's administration more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israeli, and 36% said the policies were neutral. The remaining 8% did not express an opinion.
The numbers were a stark contrast to the last poll published May 17, on the eve of the meeting between Netanyahu and Obama at the White House. In that poll, 31% labeled the Obama administration pro-Israel, 14% considered it pro-Palestinian and 40% said it was neutral. The other 15% declined to give an opinion.
Israelis clearly distinguish between the mini-outposts that spring up over night and the small cities of Ma'ale Adumim, Ariel, The Gush, and the suburbs of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu's external adviser Zalman Shoval, who was speaking for himself, questioned whether the Obama administration could mediate the Middle East conflict due to the numbers and its recent statements and actions.
"Some of the indications we have seen in the last few weeks make it more difficult for Israelis to see the US in its traditional role as an honest broker," said Shoval, a former ambassador to the US, who will head a committee on Israel-American relations that national security adviser Uzi Arad will form soon. "The vast majority of Israelis don't blame the prime minister for a confrontation with the US. They are putting the onus on the Obama administration."
Shoval is in Washington as a guest of local think tanks. He will meet with top American officials in the National Security Council and the State Department - not as an emissary of Netanyahu, though he will report back to the prime minister.•
The poll confirms what one hears from Israelis--Obama does not care about Israel.
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2 comments:
One wonders whether for the first time Jewish voters will not vote overwhelmingly Democrat in the next US election? I am not going to hold my breath waiting for them to break that habit.
Addictions are hard to break.
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