Just four percent of Jewish Israelis view the policies of U.S. President Barack Obama as being pro-Israeli, according to a poll published Friday by The Jerusalem Post, which says this is part of an ongoing decline in support for the American leader and his latest Middle East initiatives which are, if anything, making him less popular.
However, the findings of the survey may be somewhat oversimplified, according to experts who spoke with Xinhua on Sunday.
The poll, conducted among 500 people and carrying a statistical margin of error of 4.5 percent, suggests 35 percent regard Obama as neutral, while 51 percent see him as being more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israeli.
The questionnaire, carried out for the newspaper by Smith Research, was the third since the eve of the mid-May meeting between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At that point, Obama carried a 31-percent approval rating, according to the survey.
"Of course Obama is pro-Israeli," said Hillel Schenker, the vice president of Israeli Democrats Abroad.
Schenker contests that since Obama began his political career he has repeated his commitment to the Jewish state, though he may not have made friends on the political right when prior to last year's presidential election he said one does not have to be a supporter of the Likud, Netanyahu's party, to be a supporter of Israel.
"Being pro-Israeli means being pro-peace. That is in the greatest and best interests of Israel," Schenker said, questioning The Jerusalem Post's four-percent figure for those Israelis believing Obama to be supportive.
Merely talking about Obama in terms of the general Jewish-Israeli public is somewhat limited in its scope, according to Kamil Fuchs, widely regarded as Israel's top pollster. The professor of statistics at Tel Aviv University argues that accurate reflection of Israeli views comes not so much from how they see Obama, but rather from where they are looking.
First, one needs to ascertain the views of Israelis regarding the peace process, said Fuchs, noting that "The average in this case says very little."
Supporters of Likud will say one thing, but those who backed its main rival Kadima at the Israeli general election in February will offer a very different view, he proffered.
The Jerusalem Post's surveys show a decline in Israeli Jews' sympathy for the Obama position as he has become increasingly involved in the peace process.
Over the last three months, Obama has put tremendous pressure on the Netanyahu government to agree to a settlement freeze. He wants to see the immediate resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the Palestinians have said they will only sit at the negotiating table once Israel ceases all construction in the West Bank.
Progress has been made in the last few weeks and both Israel and the U.S. say agreement between them is close at hand. The latest newspaper poll was conducted prior to Netanyahu's meeting in London on Wednesday with U.S. special envoy George Mitchell and before the Israeli media published reports claiming that the Americans would not push for a settlement freeze in eastern Jerusalem.
While Fuchs can understand some elements of Israeli-Jewry thinking Obama is pro-Palestinian, he believes the Israeli view onrelations with the United States in general is that Washington's backing is unwavering.
"Anything to do with America, the Israeli public is in favor. Israelis are very fearful of losing U.S. support, as a result anything American is seen as good," said Fuchs.
For many hawkish Israelis the difference is stark between Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush. While Bush showed little interest in ruffling Israeli feathers until well into his second term, Obama has made ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a policy priority. His insistence on an uncompromising settlement freeze throughout the West Bank has left many of Netanyahu's supporters feeling cold towards him.
"Every reference he has made and his behavior since he was elected has been mocking and non-positive towards Israel," said Eli Gabbai, a former member of Israel's parliament with the rightist National Religious Party.
In Gabbai's opinion, Obama has been far friendlier with Arab and Muslim nations since taking office than he has with Israel.
Indeed, much talk on the Israeli street when Obama spoke to the Arab world from Cairo on June 4 was not about the content of his speech, but more concerning the fact that Obama has visited the Muslim states Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt without having been to Israel.
But the Obama camp argues that his engagement of the Arab and Muslim worlds is in no way aimed at damaging Israel, but rather giving it hope for peace with its neighbors.
"If a poll asked Israelis if Obama will succeed in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace and security and will succeed in engaging Iran and halting the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for a freeze of settlements and progress in the peace process, I am sure that there would be a large majority that would support it," said Schenker.
Rather than making their minds up now, most Israelis are waiting to see what the Obama peace plan may entail, according to Schenker.
The U.S. president is expected to unveil a new process for bringing the Israelis and Palestinians back to the table and for an endgame to this protracted conflict. From comments made by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and others, it appears as though Obama may make something public next month, around the same time as the opening of the 64th UN General Assembly.
Beyond regional politics, Schenker maintains there is tremendous respect for Obama in Israel.
"People actually say to me 'we only wish there was someone similar to Obama here in Israel or in our region. We need leaders like Obama in Israel and in Palestine,'" said Schenker.
(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2009)
