The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll is primarily focused on U.S. domestic politics, but contains some interesting numbers pertaining to Israel/Palestine. The full poll results are available online (PDF), and here is a screenshot of the relevant findings for Israel and how Americans think the Obama administration should engage in the Middle East:
The first interesting finding is that 55% of Americans think the U.S. government should treat Israel and the Palestinians “the same” rather than favoring one over the other. Only 31% of respondents answered the U.S. should favor Israel. The “special relationship” suddenly doesn’t look so special.
The bigger surprise is when the poll asks “In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?” and only 45% say they sympathize more with Israel. This is down from a high water mark of 61% just two and half years ago. The percentage of Americans sympathizing more with Israel hasn’t been this low in nearly 25 years since the height of the first intifada in April, 1989 when it stood at 36%.
What accounts for the drop? It’s impossible to tell for sure. The poll was taken February 21-24 which followed high profile drama surrounding the Israel lobby and Hagel nomination, mainstream headlines about Israeli soldiers’ photos on Instagram and the publicity surge accompanying 5 Broken Cameras and The Gatekeepers at the Oscars. Still, that doesn’t seem to explain a 15 point drop. More than anything it seems to reflect the general trend we follow here on the site that public perception towards Israel is shifting and the ongoing occupation is eroding American support for the country.
one poll is not a trend. however it is encouraging and maybe a critical mass has been reach. only time can tell.
Wallahi
9/11 and the war on terror really boosted support for Israel.
I guess the drug is wearing off as Ziocaine takes off in Israel.
Poll me! Poll me!
1. I want us to favor neither Israel nor Palestine. No more foreign intervention. If we withdraw from the ME, the problem will resolve itself in less than 1 year.
2. My sympathies are more with Palestine
3. No lasting peace is possible between the Israelis and Palestinians. Only the disintegration of Israel will result in peace in the ME.
45% reflects the norm over the past 40 years. In 2010, Israel was not much in the news, and it hit an all-time high. The drop is most likely due to Hagel and to the politicization of Israel during the 2012 election.
What you should be much more concerned about is the fact that after all of this BDS nonsense, there has been no meaningful change in how Americans view the Palestinians. 13% sympathize with them. 4%(!) feel the US should favor them over the Israelis. In fact, the 31% number who believe the US should favor Israel is also in keeping with historical norms; most usually answer that the US should favor neither side, but, as we know, it’s those who care that get things done, and right now, eight times as many Americans care about the Israelis as they do about the Palestinians.
The conclusion you should draw from this is that BDS is an abject failure in this country, and that most Americans are, to begin with, not receptive to its extreme message and that if anything, it has hurt the Palestinian cause in this country by identifying it as more anti-Israel than pro-Palestinian.
and that is with the massive campaign by the US msm to hide israeli actions…
along with the massive propaganda campaign to show israel in a positive light…
I think the fact of the matter is ..that most americans just dont care what happens over there…we have a ton of problems right here