New Bipartisan Poll: Massive Increase in Support for Israel

New Bipartisan Poll on Iran

New bipartisan poll shows big jump in support for Israel

• A clear majority of Americans believe that Israel’s prime minister is committed to peace with the Palestinians;
• 9 out of 10 voters agree with Obama that the Palestinians must reduce incitement;
• Nearly three-quarters of Americans agree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise not to build any new settlements, but to allow for normal growth of existing settlements;
• 95 percent agree that Palestinians need to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

Washington, D.C. – A new bipartisan poll (Word document, PowerPoint) by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR) completed for The Israel Project (TIP) shows that a strong majority (59 percent) of Americans support Israel in the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, an increase of 10 points since June.

Further, fully 63 percent of Americans believe the United States “should” take Israel’s side in the conflict. This represents an increase of 19 points since earlier this year. Only 8 percent believe that the United States should take the Palestinians’ side.

Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies said, “U.S. support for Israel has been resilient through the years, and is shared by Americans across partisan and ideological lines. It’s clear that Americans feel a sense of shared values with Israelis and share in that country’s efforts to defend itself against terrorism.”

Said TIP Founder and President Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, “Israel’s commitment to peace with the Palestinians is long-standing and deep, and its prime minister supports a two-state solution.”

Mizrahi also pointed out that a majority (57 percent) of Americans believe that Israel’s new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is committed to reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians, while only one-third believed that either the Hamas leadership in Gaza (30 percent) or Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (36 percent) share that same commitment to peace.

In other survey findings, a majority of Americas disagree with Palestinian leaders’ position not to start negotiations until Israel halts all construction on settlements. On the contrary, by a 72 percent-23 percent margin, Americans agree with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s promise not to build any new settlements, while allowing Israel to accommodate for natural growth of existing settlements.

As a basis for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, fully 95 percent of Americans agree that Palestinians need to recognize Israel’s right to exist and acknowledge its standing as a Jewish state.

Further, by a 90 percent-8 percent margin, U.S. voters agree with President Obama’s statement that it is important for Palestinians to continue to make progress in reducing the incitement and anti-Israel sentiments that are sometimes expressed in schools and mosques and in the public square, because those things are impediments to peace.

“Clearly Americans want ending the culture of hate to be part of U.S. policy in the Middle East,” said Stan Greenberg of GQRR.

The poll of 800 U.S. likely voters was conducted by telephone Aug. 22-25, 2009 for The Israel Project by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percent.