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Last update - 14:22 14/06/2009
Poll: Most Israelis could live with a nuclear Iran
By Reuters
Tags: Israel News, Iran Election 

Only one in five Israeli Jews believes a nuclear-armed Iran would try to destroy Israel and most see life continuing as normal should the Islamic Republic get the bomb, an opinion poll published on Sunday found.

The survey, commissioned by a Tel Aviv University think-tank, appeared to challenge the argument of successive Israeli governments that Iran must be denied the means to make atomic weapons lest it threaten Israel's existence.

Asked how a nuclear-armed Iran would affect their lives, 80 percent of respondents said they expected no change. Eleven percent said they would consider emigrating and 9 percent said they would consider relocating inside Israel.
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Twenty-one percent of Israelis believe Iran "would attack Israel with nuclear weapons with the objective of destroying it," the Institute for National Security Studies, which commissioned the poll, said in a statement.

The survey had 616 Jewish respondents and a margin of error of 3.5 percent, INSS research director Yehuda Ben Meir said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, like his predecessors, has hinted that Israel could attack Iran pre-emptively should Western diplomacy fail to curb its uranium enrichment.

The INSS survey found 59 percent of Israeli Jews would support such strikes, while 41 percent would not back the military option. A separate survey, commissioned by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, found 52 percent support for pre-emptive Israeli attacks on Iran, with 35 percent of respondents opposed.

Israeli Arabs, who make up some 20 percent of the population and are generally less likely to see themselves as targets of Israel's enemies, were not included for budgetary reasons, he said.

Israel, the United States and other western nations say Iran's nuclear program is aimed at manufacturing nuclear weapons. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, insists its uranium enrichment program is for civilian needs only.

But Iranian leaders' anti-Israel rhetoric and support for the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah have stirred fears of a regional war.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu is expected to devote a more significant part of a major foreign policy speech to the Iranian threat, officials close to the premier said, in the wake of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's electoral win Saturday.


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      1.   80 % don`t fear a Nuc attack 59 % support pre-emptive strikes ??? 14:25  |  Eric 14/06/09
      2.   Israeli " Arabs" are 15:03  |  Joe 14/06/09
      3.   Another poll 15:05  |  Joe 14/06/09
      4.   Most Israelis could live with a nuclear Iran 15:15  |  dovale 14/06/09
      5.   "Most Israelis" and Poll 15:22  |  DT 14/06/09
      6.   Another "Tel Aviv University think-tank" 15:22  |  David 14/06/09
      7.   Iran Nuke 15:40  |  Arie 14/06/09
      8.   Nuclear Iran 16:02  |  Michael 14/06/09
      9.   See this poll 16:12  |  Charles 14/06/09
      10.   Polls that tell exactly 16:29  |  Axel 14/06/09
      11.   commissioned by a Tel Aviv University Ultra Left Wing think-tank 16:29  |  Ronni 14/06/09
      12.   This is Democracy? 16:42  |  Rainbow Warrior 14/06/09
      13.   The MAJORITY supports pre-emptive strike. 16:42  |  Fortuna Benmayor 14/06/09
      14.   Most Jewish Israelis cant live without an enemy 17:07  |  Labhras 14/06/09
      15.   to #1 Eric 17:09  |  Northern 14/06/09
      16.   WHAT A USELESS POLL! 17:12  |  david 14/06/09
      17.   Polls are like quantum experiments. 17:34  |  Lou Medel 14/06/09
      18.   attack Iran 17:34  |  gaoni 14/06/09
      19.   Nuclear Iran 17:53  |  Kevin John Lee 14/06/09
      20.   The Irony 18:07  |  Jay 14/06/09
      21.   Poll: Most Israelis could live with a nuclear Iran 18:23  |  David 14/06/09
      22.   Poll with an agenda? 18:27  |  Meo 14/06/09
      23.   Not to worry 19:16  |  Arnold 14/06/09
      24.   Nice to know 19:45  |  Natallie Durson 14/06/09
      25.   Natallie 20:32  |  Ben 14/06/09
      26.   Natallie Durson 20:35  |  Bad times 14/06/09
      27.   Israel is a threat to itself! 20:49  |  AK 14/06/09
      28.   A few weeks ago poll according to Haaretz said 1 in 4 Israeli 20:51  |  ks 14/06/09
      29.   That depends... 20:52  |  Richard 14/06/09
      30.   I am the one. Where are the other four? 22:39  |  Robin 14/06/09
      31.   Most Israelis "could" until they can`t..... 22:42  |  Roger 14/06/09
      32.   And the world have to live with nuclear Israel 23:03  |  Dav 14/06/09
      33.   Could Egyptians Live with a Nuclear Israel? 02:46  |  Gary White 15/06/09
      34.   What about the rest of the world? 04:55  |  Conroy 15/06/09
      35.   Israelis understand First Principle of warfare 05:29  |  Voice of Reason 15/06/09
      36.   Nuclear Hamas 05:34  |  Carlos B 15/06/09
      37.   "most Israeli"..?? Peace Now 05:46  |  Peace Now,Now,Now... 15/06/09
      38.   Can we afford to avoid a preventive strike against a declared ... 07:28  |  Mario Sala 15/06/09
      39.   European Jews did not think Hitler would destroy them ?? 09:20  |  BILL 15/06/09
      40.   Polls! 10:28  |  Roo 15/06/09
      41.   Get over it. 13:11  |  seth 15/06/09
      42.   A nuclear Iran 13:50  |  Mark Penn 15/06/09
      43.   LABHRAS 15:48  |  OZ 15/06/09
      44.   Jay 15:52  |  patriot 15/06/09
      45.   Another Fake Poll cooked up by our Insane Leftist Experts 18:01  |  Tomer 15/06/09
      46.   You Missed the Point 18:34  |  Daniel 15/06/09
      47.   are you crazy!!!? 02:29  |  Amir 16/06/09
      48.   RE: 80 % don`t fear a Nuc attack 59 % support pre-emptive strikes 03:35  |  Xx2 16/06/09
      49.   Dump the Chumps 05:42  |  Jordan 16/06/09
      50.   ROO Israeli Public do not say war to everything 07:05  |  PETER SM 16/06/09
      51.   I KNOW WHY 07:49  |  indrajaya 16/06/09
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