American support for Israel at all-time high

Sunday, March 17, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

 

 

A new Gallup poll shows that support for Israel among American voters is at an all-time high, which is saying something, since pro-Israel sentiment was never lacking in the US.

According to the survey, 64 percent of all Americans side with Israel in its ongoing conflict with the Palestinians and the wider Arab world. That matches the high point of support recorded in 1991 during the first Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein was lobbing missiles at Tel Aviv.

Today, only 12 percent of Americans said they sympathize with the Palestinian narrative of the conflict.
As usual, support for Israel was much higher among Republicans (78%), but was still a firm majority among Democrats (55%).

Of possible concern is that the vast majority of those supporting Israel from both sides of the political map are from the older generations. As one moves into the younger age brackets, that support wanes. For comparison, while 71 percent of Americans over the age of 55 support Israel, that number drops to 55 percent among Americans aged 18- to 34-years-old.

That's not to say the younger generation is siding against Israel (support for the Palestinian side tops out at just 24 percent), but the Jewish state has largely failed to speak to this demographic in as effect a manner as it reached their parents.

The poll results were published just days before President Barack Obama was scheduled to arrive in Israel. In line with the findings, Obama was expected to avoid putting any additional pressure on Israel to meet Arab demands.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23734/Default.aspx?hp=readmore