Haaretz poll: 27% of Israelis think Obama is anti-Semitic
More than 50% find him fair and friendly; 41% say building in Jerusalem should stop until end of negotiations.
By Yossi Verter Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu Barack Obama Israel news Middle East peaceSome 27 percent of Israelis believe that U.S. President Barack Obama is anti-Semitic, according to a Haaretz-Dialog poll conducted this week.
Another 56 percent questioned said they don't believe politicians who call Obama anti-Semitic or hostile to Israel, nor those who say he is "striving to topple Netanyahu."
On the whole, Obama's popularity may be declining in American public opinion, but a sweeping majority of Israelis think his treatment of this country is friendly and fair.
The poll, which was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday and supervised by Professor Camil Fuchs, comes after reports of a crisis in diplomatic relations due to Israel's announcement during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden that it will build 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aides said they had hoped the public would rally around him and see him as a victim of overly strict treatment by the Obama administration.
However, there was no significant change in the level of public satisfaction with Netanyahu since the previous poll, conducted six weeks earlier. Respondents' evaluation of his suitability as premier also remained stable.
It appears the public was relatively unfazed by the Israeli and American media frenzy over the diplomatic drama. Perhaps Israelis are too busy cleaning and shopping for Passover or looking for cheap vacations.
The survey indicates that Netanyahu emerged from the crisis unscathed in the eyes of Israeli public opinion, but the continued construction in Jerusalem should cause him some concern.
Nearly half the respondents (48 percent) said Israel must keep building in the capital, even at the expense of a rift with the United States, while 41 percent said Israel must accept the American demand (and Palestinian ultimatum) to stop building in Jerusalem until the end of the negotiations (which haven't begun yet). Netanyahu may conclude that at the moment he may have some room to maneuver, but the balance between supporters and opponents of continued construction could easily shift.
A large majority believes Netanyahu is not deliberately causing a crisis to thwart talks with the Palestinians, as some have argued. A smaller majority does not believe Netanyahu should fire Eli Yishai, whose Interior Ministry announced the construction during Biden's visit. Yishai is not particularly liked by the mainstream, but Israelis aren't that interested in seeing heads roll - or the coalition destabilized - over this incident.
Though the public remained composed in the face of the diplomatic fracas, poll respondents are not thrilled with the prime minister's conduct in the affair.
More people said Netanyahu's behavior was irresponsible than said he acted responsibly. The public seems to be treating Netanyahu harshly; after all, he didn't plan the badly timed announcement and he did apologize several times. So why is he seen as irresponsible nonetheless?
Perhaps the words "Netanyahu" and "conduct" are a disastrous combination for a prime minister who lost power a decade ago because of improper behavior.
His performance in the first year of his current term is not especially encouraging. As soon as people hear those two words in the same sentence, they give Netanyahu an F. No matter that he didn't rant and rave, that he made an effort to soothe the Americans.
The prime minister's aides waited tensely for the weekend newspaper surveys. They believed the public's heart would be with their man, whom they see as the underdog who was scolded though he did no wrong.
The public has not turned its back on Netanyahu, but it hasn't applauded his performance either. Perhaps average Israelis cannot, and do not want to, imagine themselves living in a far worse reality than this - without the warmth and light of an American alliance.
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Thanks for nothing.
Yes he is defenantly anti semetic!
Yep.
Send the philistines ("palestinians") back to jordan (or another country) G-d gave Israel the land from the Mediterranean to the euphrates river and yet they are giving some of that land away and not even wanting to claim much of the land that G-d gave to them. Maybe the new philistine state should be in illinois (dictator obama's homeland) which is seven times larger than all of Israel
obama is a kenyan born narcissistic socialist dictator - and is no friend of Israel (or the united states) and he should be impeached before he destroys Israel or the united states.
Just another fake pool prepared by Haaretz, They use polls as a tool of public opinion manipulation, instead a tool of public opinion research.
are going to be surprised to discover that I am an anti semite because I support Obama. I wonder if I will have to return the awards I got as a kid from Hebrew School. These people on the far right are leading Israel on the path to a disaster. I just don't believe you cheer a friend on when they are jumping off a cliff.
Where are all the numbers? What were the specific questions asked? Who were the respondents? How many people were polled? What is the margin of error? When poll info is cherry picked like this you NEED to be suspect.
Israel's politicians have played the "victim card" as an excuse for its excesses and defiance of international law for over 60 years. The world has caught on to their game, and apparently, so too have the Israelis - at least when it comes to personal political motives.
Those Israelis that think Obama is Anti-Semitic are the extreme "Right Wing" Jews who believe that any reconciliation with the Palestinians is a "High Treason." The assasin of former Prime Minister Yishak Rabin was the most prominent, but he is not alone. His beliefs are alive and well today in those who voted for Avigor Lieberman, and other such hard core right wing Jews that thrive in a pool of extreme nationalism. The 27% in the poll who think Obama is Anti-Semitic, therefore, is more indicative of what percentage of Israelis are hard-headed right wingers, rather than what Obama really is!
That's okay... about 30% of Americans are kooky also.
Its about time Israel's stopped using the victims card by claiming that anybody who critizes them are anti-semetic. It shows them up for what they are. Manipulating selfish people who are only interested in achieving their own ends by what ever method is available and stopping any criticism of there behaviour towards the Palestine's on who they continue to inflict the same sort of behaviour the Nazi's inflicted on them. They have lost and will continue to lose the support and respect of most of the world's people's if they continue this double speak behaviour.
You are so far off the mark ...
Call a spade a spade. Semantics are important and Judaism and Semitism are simply not the same thing! Jews are many people all over. Let's get over the blut and boden propaganda. It is so tribal, so racist and not Jewish.
In contrast to the Haaretz commissioned poll, a poll commissioned by IMRA by Maaagar Mochot carried out 16-17 March of 511 adult Israeli Jews found support for Netanyahu's decision to continue construction in Jerusalem 62%:26% with respondents saying that President Obama favors Arabs over Israelis 42%:9% (34% said he was neutral} http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=475272
A government is supposed to be representative of the people. When the people are so much at odds with their government it's time for a change of government. Don't forget, these people work for you. Ask yourself, if this was a business and you were the boss would you put up with employees like this? These clowns have got to go.
Don't believe in you liberal livni polls
Haaretz poll is obviously a fraud. Straight from J-Street
Disgusted hit the jackpot right there. That is exactly what is happening.
Seems just weeks ago the polls indicated that almost 90% of Israelis considered Obama a Militant Muslim Terrorist. Which poll was cooked?
Every time an American president has a rough time at home, Israel becomes the scapegoat. Obama's grandiose plans starting with health care, the economy, his promises of bringing the tropes from Iraq, closing Guantanamo have all failed so far. Obama's Health care plan is straggling at best, the US economy is in the toilet, in Iraq the suicide bombers are terrorizing the Iraqi population as well as the American soldiers, General Petraeus unable to put an end to it, but the maverick general found a easy target as well. He wrote an absurd report blaming Israel for terror in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Guess Israel is lucky he didn't blame Israel for the earth quakes in Haiti and Chile. Obama isn't the first to blame Israel, Bill Clinton has diverted attention from his lowed acts, Jimmy Carter has done that when his presidency was failing and the country was facing a horrible economy, Nixon had done as his dirty deeds were emerging. Obama got higher approval in Israel than at home.
Israelis want peace AND more settlements on occupied territory. The two things are not compatible. The time has come to choose between the two.
yea right and for the last 8 months his poll numbers averaged 4 percent!! wow even the israeli media is terrified of offending obama! this must be so much more serious then were told.......btw i know you cant print this
Good to have posters on here who clearly hate Jews and Israel to shed the true light on things. You believe some kind of stereotype in which Jews (or Israel, as you enlightened "anti-Zionists" will insist) play the victim all the time. Since you believe it you see it confirmed wherever you look.
particularly on the foreign policy front, so he's looking for an easy score by pressuring Israel.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aides said they had hoped the public would rally around him and see him as a victim". Does Israel have ANY other foreign policy strategy OTHER than playing the Victim at every turn? Talk about playing into stereotype!!