Sunday, September 6, 2009
Indeed, and, as Herb Keinon points out, contrary to the warnings of Boston Consul General Nadav Tamir: Poll shows surge of support for Israel in US
In stark contrast to the cable leaked last month by Israel's consul-general in Boston saying support for Israel in the US has declined, a recent poll for The Israel Project shows support has bounced back significantly after slipping in the aftermath of US President Barack Obama's Cairo speech.
The poll, conducted by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR), asked some 800 likely US voters the following question: "Thinking about the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in the Middle East, please tell me whether, in general, you consider yourself to be an Israel supporter, Palestinian supporter, or neither/undecided."
Some 59 percent of the respondents said they were Israel supporters, compared to 8 percent for the Palestinians. The poll was conducted by telephone from August 22 to 25.
This was a considerable jump in support for Israel since June, following the US president's speech in Cairo, when the same question was asked by the same pollsters and Israel's support was only 49 percent...
The poll goes on with more good news. Many of you will remember the flap caused by leaked letter that Tamir wrote to the Foreign Ministry warning of an erosion of American public support for Israel due to Netanyahu policies insufficiently subservient to Obama Administration desires. Many of us thought the letter was bizarre at the time and wondered, in effect, who had put him up to it. Many establishment Jewish figures were bizarrely and inappropriately supportive of Tamir personally at the time..almost like they had a stake in him and the outcome of how his advice was received.
I pointed out at the time that Tamir's remarks were indicative not necessarily of any reality outside the perceptions of the small circle of people he was speaking to - assuming the letter wasn't simply a complete put-up job.
What's interesting here is that this poll was conducted amongst Americans generally, not Jews specifically, and not Boston Jewish leaders, indicating once again that the Jewish establishment is either completely out of touch with the rank and file not only of average Jewish Americans, but also of Americans generally, or they know what the average is and don't care because they were once again demonstrating (as they did when they decided that Sarah Palin was a greater threat than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) that their number one priorities are really leftist politics, the Democrat Party and Barack Obama.
AIPAC has done an excellent job of taking average Americans, left and right, and channeling/reading their basic values, putting it through a process and coming out on the other end with support for Israel. They use our basic values and focus it on Israel support.
More and more it becomes clear that, for much of the Jewish leadership, the relationship is in exactly the opposite direction. They use (in the most negative sense of the word) the Jewish Community's support for Israel, and co-opt that into support for Democrats. That is the direction their priorities run.
[Update: Fixed first link to point to story about polling on Israel, not Iran. Thanks Fred.]
Puhleeeze. A poll commissioned by a Zionist organization that shows remarkable growth in sympathy for Israel in the wake of the Gaza offensive is questionable, at best.
But if it helps you sleep better at night, like mama telling you that there are no monsters under the bed, go ahead and believe it.
Yes, I'm sure the news comes as a bummer to you and the rest of the crowd at judicial-inc.
American voters' support of Israel has been slipping for a while now, since the late 90s. The slippage has been mostly among liberal Democrats.
I suspect what's going on here is that support for Israel is no longer associated, among American liberals and leftists, with Bush. It's probably just a rebound from BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome).
But that's no cause for complacency. The weaker support for Israel among the Democratic base is one more reason for American Jews to be more independent in their politics and not so slavishly attached to one party.
(Yeah, it's me again :)
David, put on your thinking cap:
It sounds like the people for this poll did not know they were talking to "a Zionist organization." It sounds like the Israel Project contracted with a neutral (as neutral as they get anyway, because nobody's truly neutral) polling agency which then asked a perfectly respectable neutral, non-leading question.
So quit jeering about "mama" and "monsters under the bed", ok? Or do you have such a hard time believing that Americans would feel supportive to Israel?
Stephaie,
Daoud's mind is made up. It's no use trying to confuse him with the facts.
Stephanie, Doodle doesn't have a thinking cap. He may have lost it...a circumcision of sorts...
Daoud is just wiping the tears streaming down his cheeks over the van jones nakba.
How does David know that previous results of slipping support for Israel wasn't from an anti-Zionist org., only questioning the liberal left?
Anyway one should see the actual questions to realise exactly what was being measured and interpreted. (Something like the NYT's underdstanding of comments made by Mark Steyn?)
Binah said:
But that's no cause for complacency. The weaker support for Israel among the Democratic base is one more reason for American Jews to be more independent in their politics and not so slavishly attached to one party.
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EV says...
Actually slavish support for the Left in the US is pretty much in Jewish American interests, especially those that support Israel and wish the US to support Israel.
Jews are the intellectual vanguard of the Left's charge to drive Christianity and symbols and such from the public sphere. Also they are (ofern leaders) in a coalition of minority groups pushing for special priveleges and preferences, rights, and considerations for minorities over the majority population. This coalition forms the basis along with ideological Leftists for the Democratic Party.
So on Domestic policy, the Dems are right in line with Jewish American interests.
Now if the Jews in large part abandoned the Democrat Party to the Leftists and African Americans....well all I can say that support for Israel would vaporize in the Democrat Party.
Seeing as how the Republicans support Israel on principle(s)....and you dont have to worry too much about that changing, especially with the Christian Zionists in the base.
So it makes perfect logical sense for the American Jews to remain in the Democrat Party, where their votes ensure the continuing support of Israel...and votes without which that support is likely to vanish.
Interestingly enough, their is some hypocrisy on display here, as the Leftist who are severely critical of Israel, are merely transfering their ideology from Western Countries to Israel. Holding it up to higher standards than their enemies, advocating open borders and mass immigraton, attacks on teh state of Israel as a racist society, attacks on Israel for its lack of seperation of Religion and State, ill treatment of minorities, minorities being denied equal rights, etc, et al.
You can look at it this way, what if a sizable percentage of the population of Israel was Christian and Leftist, and was the vanguard of a coalition of minorities and Leftists in Israel that pushed for the dismantling of all these these racist crimes, discrimination, and xenophobia. It would result in the destruction of Israel as a majority Jewish State. Well that is exactly what American Jews are advocating in the US.
Funny that, heh?
And before everyone gets in a huff, I am a reliable supporter of Israel, and generally a fan of Jews and their culture.
However I big dissagreements with Jewish domestic policy advocations.
One hopes that Israel will teach Jews a lesson about being a majority in a country...since they for so long have been a persecuted minority, this new perspective hopefully will help them to see their hypocrisy vis a vis the US and Israel, and come to respect the majority population in the US's rights and perspective more in the future.
One can only hope.
Best regards
EV
Hey, NWO, whatever happened to Castaways? They seem to have disappeared overnight and I miss their edifying conversations.
I heard you went to Israel. How was your trip?
Castaways is no longer in operation. Management hasnt been doing so good lately and the dues came up, I think. No one (who was offered) took up the duties, and so it is no longer. I was banned before final shutdown.
I heard from diane, she didnt respond as to where everyond gathers now. Guess Im not invited. They wont make that mistake TWICE!
My guess is the Huffpo, but they werent really into big boards. Cookie is there, no doubt, under what name, I havent a clue.
Good to see you. Hope all is well.
As well as can be expected. Thanks.
Israel was quite fantastic. I hadn't visited in 5 years and things are always progressing there in jumps and leaps. Very hot was the month of August. A baby boom seems to be underway. People seem happy enough, more friendly to one another, less impatient, a result I suspect of the relative calm since the Gaza war. Great food and absolutely the best coffee, anywhere anytime.
Sounds great, always good to get in touch with your people and roots on home soil. Im going to make it to Ireland one day!
:)
If your still around Noga, you may find this interesting, perhaps hilarious.
Video: French Artsy Intellectuals talking about Violence in France
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9d8o9_violence-en-france-y-pas-pire-quau_news