Gallup: Maybe Israel is better off without a 'peace process'?
A new Gallup survey out this week shows that most Americans support Israel over the 'Palestinians.'
Americans' views toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict held fairly steady over the past year, with a near record-high 63% continuing to say their sympathies lie more with the Israelis. Seventeen percent sympathize more with the Palestinians.Read the whole thing.
In measuring Americans' sympathies toward the disputants in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 1988, Gallup has found support for Israel consistently exceeding support for the Palestinians. However, the percentage who are neutral -- saying they sympathize equally with both, sympathize with neither, or expressing no opinion -- has shifted, with corresponding changes in support for Israel. While the reasons for these changes are not always evident, public neutrality was generally higher in the 1990s as the Palestinians and the Israelis often met at Clinton administration-sponsored peace summits.
Conversely, support for Israel increased during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, as well as immediately after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war -- all events that may have enhanced Israel's perceived value to the U.S. as a Mideast ally. Sympathy toward Israel was also higher in polling conducted shortly after Hamas' victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections compared with the year prior, perhaps for the same reason.
The new results are from Gallup's Feb. 2-5, 2011, update of the annual Gallup World Affairs survey, conducted as the citizen uprising in Egypt was unfolding.
I find it curious that support for Israel jumps whenever there is no 'peace process,' while support for neutrality jumps whenever there is one. For example, support for Israel fell from 2004 to 2005 (when we were giving away Gaza and getting 'peace'), rose from 2005 to 2007 (when it was clear that we did not get peace by giving away Gaza, but before Annapolis started), was flat from 2007-09 (while Annapolis was going on), and rose starting in 2009 (when the 'Palestinians' slammed the door on direct negotiations). See the chart below.
Maybe we're better off without a 'peace process'?Quick - someone tell Bibi.
Labels: Annapolis process, Binyamin Netanyahu, direct talks, Gallup, Gaza expulsion, Middle East peace process
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:14 PM
5 Comments:
Forget about what Americans think.
Just read what the neighbors say.
There's nothing new under the sun.
There is no peace process.
The Palestinians don't want peace on the terms Israel is likely to offer them and Israel is not going to commit national suicide for them.
There is not going to be progress towards a peace agreement this year, this decade or for the rest of this century.
Palestinian attitudes would have to change and there is no sign that will happen any time soon.
I find these results extremely hard to believe...maybe this is just a product of my surroundings in the Bay Area, but conversations with the people here would give you no impression of such overwhelming support of Israel.
Interesting looking at those stats. Only among liberals, and especially Democrats, is there a majority sympathy for the Arabs. Republicans-80% support for Israel. Other demographic breakdowns show a very clear strong pro-Israel majority in all categories.
Just those "progressives" and Democrats...Good to know who your friends are, and who aren't.
Joe, indeed it must be your immediate surroundings.
It's a different story here in the Heartland. I live in the traditional America you read about - G-d and Country, neighbor helping neighbor. Israel is seen as an ally on the front lines against radical Islam. The Christians here are true friends.
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