August 27, 2001
Israel is winning in public opinion polls in the U.S. Some 70% of Americans
have a positive image of Israel, according to a poll commissioned by the Israeli
Foreign Ministry.
Another survey, commissioned by the America Middle East Information
Network (AMEIN), shows that by almost a 4-1 margin (42% to 11%),
Americans are more sympathetic to the Israeli side than with the Palestinian
Arab side. This result is similar to a finding released by a Gallup survey
conducted earlier this month.
The AMEIN poll shows that 73% of Americans believe that Israel is “justified
attempting to kill” a terrorist when “Israel has proof that a terrorist is
planning a suicide bomb or other act of terrorism that is likely to result in the
deaths of Israelis.” Only 16% said Israel is not justified in taking such action.
In addition, 70% of Americans believe Israelis are “justified
attempting to kill” an individual when they have proof that he had “carried out a
terrorist act that killed Israelis and plans to strike again.” Only 18% said that is
not justified.
The poll further found that most Americans believe that terrorism is on
the rise, and that Israelis are the most frequent victims.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Zalman Shoval explained to Arutz-7
today,
“The American public has a basic admiration for Israel, and perceives a
shared set of values with Israel… They also have a negative image of extremist
Islam, which they associate with an anti-women stance, Taliban, Palestinians –
it’s largely the same to the average American…”
Pollster Frank Luntz, whose firm, the Luntz Research Companies,
conducted the survey, said, “It’s interesting that Republicans and Democrats –
who don’t agree on much – agree on this: In the current spate of violence, Israel
is the victim, not the perpetrator.”
