Comments (0)Support for Israel Near Record High, Poll Shows
July 30, 2010Washington
JTA Wire Service
Support for Israel among Americans is at a near record high, a new poll showed.
According to the Gallup Poll, 63 percent of Americans say their sympathies in the Middle East conflict are with Israel, while 15 percent side with the Palestinians. The rest favor both sides, neither side or have no opinion.
Support for Israel was higher only in 1991, shortly after Israel was hit with Scud missiles during the Gulf War, when it was at 64 percent.
The poll, conducted in early February, was part of Gallup’s annual World Affairs survey in which Americans were asked a series of questions about their opinions of 20 countries or entities, including Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Israel’s ranking, at 67 percent favorable, was among the highest of the countries surveyed. The Palestinian Authority, at 20 percent, was among the lowest.
Support for Israel increased more among Republicans and independents than Democrats, the poll showed. Since 2001, there has been an increase of 25 points among Republicans and 18 points among independents. Support for Israel among Democrats has stayed about the same.
Asked whether peace eventually will be reached in the Middle East, 67 percent of respondents answered “doubtful” and 30 percent said “there will come a time” when there will be peace.
In a general trend over the past 10 years, Democrats were more optimistic than Republicans about the chances for peace. Thirty-nine percent of Democrats said it will come; 25 percent of Republicans agreed.
Pollsters conducted telephone interviews with a random sampling of 1,025 American adults between Feb. 1 and 3. The poll has a 4 percent margin of error.
Man’s Remains Moved, Granting a Late Wife’s Wish
The late wife of a Jewish man had her wish granted to have his remains moved to a family-owned plot in a Pittsburgh cemetery.
The body of Howard Tobin was moved Tuesday following a ruling by Allegheny County Judge Lawrence O’Toole that the wife’s wishes outweighed a congregation that opposed moving the remains, The Associated Press reported.
O’Toole made his ruling after hearing arguments on behalf of Tobin’s wife, who died in January, and an attorney for Poale Zedeck, the Orthodox Jewish cemetery north of Pittsburgh where Tobin was buried.
An attorney for Tobin’s widow said her husband was buried in the Orthodox cemetery 45 years ago because his brothers handled the arrangements for the grieving wife.
The widow asked the court to move the body in 2008, in part because the couple were Reform Jews, but the Orthodox cemetery said that violated Jewish burial laws.
Attorneys for the Orthodox cemetery decided not to appeal.
As Vote Nears, Berman E-mail Stresses Dems’ Israel Support
Ahead of midterm elections, a Democratic leader distributed talking points to fellow House Democrats stressing support for Israel by President Obama and the party.
The July 22 memo from Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, declared that the backing from Obama and the House Democrats have been unprecedented.
“I think you will find [this document] useful to make the case that House Democrats and the President are as good if not better than any Congress or Administration that has come before,” Berman, who is Jewish, said in an e-mail to Democrats in Congress.
Republicans bidding for the Jewish vote in November’s elections, which are close enough that Democrats fear losing the majority in the House, are trying to tie Democratic Party candidates to Obama in the wake of months of tension over Israel’s settlement policies. The U.S. and Israeli governments say they have put the tensions behind them.
The approximately two dozen talking points emphasized that Obama has stressed the need for Palestinians to recognize the Jewish character of the state and that he has made Iran a top priority in every meeting with world leaders. They drew attention to Obama’s commitment to providing Israel with financial and military aid.
Leaders of pro-Israel groups do not dispute the enhanced defense assistance, but some say that Obama’s public disagreements over Israel’s settlement policies have handed leverage to Israel’s enemies and rivals.
In a listing of bills and resolutions passed recently in the House regarding Israel, the Berman statement noted a resolution in January 2009 stating that Israel has a right to defend itself and a bill in June sanctioning Iran.
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.