IOA Editor: For the American Jewish Committee survey results page –
2010 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion
By Natasha Mozgavaya, Haaretz – 13 April 2010
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1162733.html
Despite claims that that Israelis are wary of U.S. President Barack Obama, a new poll released on Tuesday shows that most American Jews view their leader and his dealings with Israel in a positive light.
According to the 2010 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion, conducted by the American Jewish Committee, 73 percent of American Jews characterize relations between Israel and the U.S. today as “very positive” or “positive.”
In addition to this, 55 percent of American Jews approve of the way the Obama administration is handling U.S.-Israel relations.
In polls quoted in a New York Times article by former American Jewish Congress national director Henry Siegman from a few months prior, Obama is supported by only between 6 to ten percent of the Israeli public.
Despite American Jews’ positive outlook on Obama and Israel-U.S. relations, their expectations for a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is less optimistic with 72 percent of respondent saying their view on an improvement in the situation has remain unchanged since the previous year.
The majority of those polled agreed that the goal of Arabs is the “destruction of the state of Israel,” with 80 percent believing peace cannot be achieved with a Hamas-led Palestinian government.
On the subject of Iran, American Jews are almost equally divided for and against the way the Obama administration is handling the issue of a nuclear Iran with 62 percent of respondents saying they would support Israel taking military action against Iran.
