Published 19:40 15.06.10
Latest update 19:40 15.06.10
Poll: 65% of Jewish
Israelis say U.S. Jews should criticize Obama's Mideast policy
B’nai B’rith survey also found 54% of Jewish Israelis believe Jewish advocacy
groups who work with foreign governments should always support Israeli policy.
By Natasha Mozgovaya and Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel news Barack Obama Jewish world Sixty-five percent of Jewish
Israelis believe U.S. Jews should criticize the Obama administration's policy
toward Israel, according to a survey published in June that was conducted on
behalf of the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem.
The fifth annual Survey of Contemporary Israeli Attitudes Toward World Jewry,
conducted by Keevoon Research, surveyed 500 Jewish Israelis over the age of 18
between June 1 and 4. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percent.
Twelve percent of respondents said American Jews should support Obama's current
policy on Israel.
The survey also found that 46 percent of Jewish Israelis believe American Jews
are reluctant to criticize the Obama administration's Israeli policy due to fear
of being accused of dual loyalty. Meanwhile, 36 percent said that type of
accusation has no effect on them.
Meanwhile, 54 percent of Jewish Israelis believe that Jewish advocacy groups who
work with foreign governments and call themselves "pro-Israel" should always
support Israeli government policy.
A majority of Jewish Israelis (55 percent) also said they believe a two-state
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essential to the survival of
Israel as a Jewish democratic state.
However, 49 percent disagreed that settlements pose a threat to Israel and "feed
the delegitimization process" that Israel currently faces.
Respondents were also asked questions about immigration, including the Law of
Return and what role the Jewish Agency should play in forging Jewish identity in
the Diaspora