J Street published a poll of 800 Jewish voters on November 4 that is scary. When asked to “rate your feelings,” warm versus cold, they favor Benjamin Netanyahu by 53-24 percent but fewer warm up to Obama– 48-44. Notice the unfavorables for Obama are nearly twice Netanyahu’s. Hillary Clinton they favor, 61-31. And only Sheldon Adelson is in the doghouse. 10 percent favorable, 30 percent unfavorable. Jon Stewart does a lot better.
The Jewish numbers are better than Americans generally, who have a 44 percent favorable rating of Obama, and a 50 percent unfavorable rating.
The data from a liberal Jewish organization shows staunch support for the rightwing Israeli government. Jewish voters supported the Gaza slaughter 80-20 and are against pressuring Israel to stop settlements in the West Bank, or pressure Israel to accept a peace deal. This poll exposes the attitudes that are the basis of my statement that the Jewish community is reactionary on the Israel/Palestine issue.
Let’s whip through some of the numbers. The Jewish voters don’t care about Iran, didn’t vote on that basis. Domestic issues were most important to them.
These folks are officially liberals: by 69-28 they voted Democratic over Republican last election, and they’ll vote for Hillary over Rand Paul by 70-22.
Now here are some specific folks they register their feelings about. Numbers are Favorable/Unfavorable:
Barack Obama ………………………………………………………………………48 44
Democratic Party …………………………………………………………………..50 38Republican Party……………………………………………………………………20 71
Hillary Clinton………………………………………………………………………61 31
John Boehner………………………………………………………………………..12 65
Benjamin Netanyahu………………………………………………………………53 24
Sheldon Adelson……………………………………………………………………10 30
Jon Stewart…………………………………………………………………………..45 27
Well at least they thought more of Jon Stewart than Sheldon Adelson.
They’re against putting pressure on Israel:
Would you support or oppose the United States playing an active role in helping the parties to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict if it meant the United States exerting pressure on Israel to make the compromises necessary to achieve peace?
54-46 opposed. That’s why the disapproval numbers of Obama are so high.
Approve of Israel’s actions in Gaza this summer? Yep. 80/20.
They support a deal with Iran, overwhelmingly. But only 28 percent say that Israel should suspend all settlement construction in the West Bank.
This is interesting:
Support/oppose BDS, 15/85
Support/oppose settlement products boycott, 20/80.
So Peter Beinart is little more popular in the Jewish community than Omar Barghouti.
As for religious observance: 77 percent say they go to a synagogue a few times a year or fewer, and only 64 percent are members of congregations. These folks are secular.
The group is heavily weighted generationally: 29 percent over 64; 59 percent over 50. So the Jewish population is aging remarkably.
These numbers help explain the Israel lobby. It’s older Jews. And they’re Democrats. Let’s not blame John Hagee and the Christian Zionists, they have little influence over the Democratic Party. These folks are the reason Obama isn’t pressuring Israel on the unending settlements, let alone saying anything strong about the crushing of Palestinian life in Jerusalem. They don’t care about Palestinian life. They approve the Gaza slaughter and think Netanyahu is doing a helluva job.
(A writer at The Hill says the poll shows that Jews are beginning to consider Republicans, 30 percent are anyway, in part because Obama was critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.)
I understand that you are talking about older generations. But why was it that so many of the younger generation supported the Gaza war? You mentioned 80% across all ages, so the younger group must be somewhere in that range, maybe 70%.
In the picture, Obama is wearing a lapel pin. I wasn’t even aware that Wall Street had a lapel pin.
Palestine will gain it’s freedom in opposition to and directly against the wishes of the Jewish diaspora.
That’s what makes BDS so vital – it takes the responsibility and the ‘ownership’ of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict away from the organised Jewish community.
All this is not to say that Phil and friends aren’t wonderful courageous people. But he and his friends will remain (sadly) a small minority subtracted from the Israel-can-do-no-wrong diaspora majority.
A couple quick points:
1. According to question 35 of the poll, 74% of respondents say they support if the US put pressure on both sides. It seems people want pressure to be applied equally.
2. Question 40 said that all sides have agreed to certain parameters for peace including this:
“the Palestinians recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people, and Israel
recognizes the Palestinian state as the nation state of the Palestinian people”
I don’t ever recall the Palestinians agreeing to such term.
J Street = AIPAC in sheep’s clothing.
Disapproval of one’s leaders is standard. I prefer V. Putin to T. Abbott (even though Abbott did get rid of the stupid carbon tax) and Putin is, we are told, second only to ISIS in the hierarchy of the Forces of Evil.
But the approval of Israel’s attack on Gaza, and of the settlements, is really depressing. It is hard to understand the moral blindness.