Poll: More Israelis like Obama, but don't feel he supports them

The results is obvuious and reveals a psychgramme of the common Israeli: Whilst Obama represents a policy of cooperation (the first US president to do so in the last 200 years), the Israelis are trained and educated towards confrontation. This is the big and significant difference.

"There are real opportunities for the president and his team to speak directly and convincingly to the Israeli people," the report said. Who the hell cares what Israelis think? Obama is the American president, (or so we've been led to believe). Act in America's interests, the feelings of the Jews be damned.

America's commitment to Israel is a long-term commitment. America recognizes Israel as a legitimate state that believes in human rights, peace, freedom, and democracy. America recognizes Israel's right to exist, and it is well known that if the immediate existence of Israel is threatened, America will do all it can to 'enforce' Israel's right to exist. This is not the kind of policy that comes and goes with a whim - it is a cornerstone of the US foreign policy. It is not something that, these days, is done to 'keep the Jewish vote.' Obama is, in a sense, pro-Israel by default. In America, Jews are our friends and neighbors. But that's not what makes America unconditionally defend Israel's right to exist. For a superpower, legitimacy comes from being able to promote order and stability. Destruction of Israel would prove US impotence and destroy its superpower status. US-Israeli partnership is VITAL to US interests. Obama tries new strategies, the basic US view is unchanged.

Obama's speach at the Nobel prize ceremony was absolutely great.

Israeli public opinion is of no concern to Obama. Even U.S. Jewish voter approval is insignificant; the Jewish "pro-Israel" vote is probably less than 1% of the U.S. electorate. It's about campaign contributions. And that won't last forever. I seriously doubt that the heirs of the Jewish-American fortunes will choose Israel and her interests as the major recipient of their largess once mom and dad have passed. The generation of U.S. Jews who were traumatized by the holocaust and, to a lesser extent, by U.S. anti-semitism, will soon pass (when I was growing up, we as Jews, along with African Americans, were not allowed to live in the lovely old neighborhood down the street, nor belong to the country club across the street). The U.S. has changed, and so too have the attitudes and concerns of the younger generations of U.S. Jews. And with the advent of the internet, history is harder to spin. U.S.Jews of the future will have little interest in supporting an extremist ethnocracy.

He is absolutely horrid; both for Israel and the USA. I can't wait for his first and only term to end. Hopefully before he destroys the USA and Israel

I am sure the 1000 people polled all live in Ramat Aviv.

You never miss an opportunity to criticize Israel. When it comes to land theft Brtian or Ausie are the champions of this leauge. Where is falkland and where is Britain. Aby

"....Israelis believe peace is necessary, but they currently do not feel a sense of urgency ...." . That's obvious. B'seder ! 'Perhaps they need another intifada to revive that sense of urgency.!!!

Wake up Israelis. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves. Obama will not risk the loss of the pro-Israeli Jewish vote in the USA. He will continue the Bush-Cheney policies of ignoring Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians. Obama has tried to establish preconditions for negotiations requiring Palestine to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and the "conditions on the ground," namely the settlements. It is the EU and Russia that have objected. Obama and Netanyahu are expert at establishing a facade of progress, but they truly are committed to the continued control of Palestinians.

And would do nearly anything within reason to protect it. Most Americans feel this way. Nonetheless, his main job is protecting and supporting the American people, a job which will inevitably put him into conflict with right-wing Israeli governments. Americans feel a deep sense of urgency in regard to the conflict, because unlike the Europeans we take extremist Islam very seriously. If Israel continues to resist the peace, they will find their relationships with each successive US President more difficult, and the US is not an ally that Israel can afford to lose.

This popularity poll is utterly insignificant. Lack of popularity among Israelis is no worry for Obama. The popularity poll that matters is Israel's popularity among politically and economically leading nations. And that figure, which was very high fifty years ago, is now low and still decreasing. Now they protest against Israel's wall building. Very soon they will build the wall instead, on the 67 or even 48 borders, to protect Israel's neighbours. Remember Rhodesia? Remember South Africa?

Considering so far all the polls at best around 10%-20% said they liked him and the number who thought he supported Israel was in the single figures its unlikely that this poll has any truth to it. Its possible that the fact he hasnt been saying much in the last month or two that people are more willing to give him a chance but I dont think this poll represents the true feeling of the Israeli public because more polls have been against him and this is a serious jump in support for him if we are taking over 50% support him and only 48% think he doesn't support Israel.

The Israeli right mounted a massive propaganda and smear campaign before he was elected and raised the lies and smears to a hysterical level after he was elected. When virtually ALL you have heard about someone is intended to prejudice one's opinion, how can most people rise above their education?

"Israelis believe peace is necessary, but they currently do not feel a sense of urgency to reach a final status agreement with the Palestinians" They haven't felt any urgency for the past 42 years, thanks to the US always protecting and molly-cuddling them! I suppose it's easy, for some people anyway, to ignore road blocks, land theft and house demolitions when it's happening to others a fee miles away.

If this poll if correct,it shows that 59% of the Israelis are intelligent people.Statisticaly the same as the Americans (57%)...Here in Brazil,unfortunately,only 5% are litterate.Even lula,el presidente,is a grade school dropout...

Obamas job is to support Americans, not Israelis. It is quite often not the same thing.