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Poll: Majority of Israeli Jews Favor Settlement Construction, Consider Obama ‘Unfriendly’ to Israel

avatar by Jeffrey Barken / JNS.org
January 10, 2017 1:26 pm

Eighty-nine percent of respondents on the Right said Israel should continue construction in the disputed territories, followed by 83.5% on the moderate right, 45% in the center, 21% on the moderate Left and 15% on the Left. Additionally, 58% Israeli Jews reject Secretary of State John Kerry’s assertion following the UN resolution’s passage that Israel “can either be Jewish or democratic — it cannot be both,” according to the poll.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/01/10/poll-majority-of-israeli-jews-favor-settlement-construction-consider-obama-unfriendly-to-israel/

Apparently there are "moderate right" and "moderate left" Jewish people, and quite a gulf between US and Israel Jews on important issues.

March 8, 2016
Israel’s Religiously Divided Society
1. Comparisons between Jews in Israel and the U.S.
[...]
U.S. Jews are older, more educated than Israeli Jews
[...]
Different perspectives on the peace process, settlements and U.S. support for Israel

Israeli Jews vs. U.S. Jews on the peace process, settlements and U.S. support for IsraelDespite their connections and shared attachment to the Jewish state, Israeli Jews and U.S. Jews have very different perspectives on some controversial political issues in Israel.

American Jews, at the time of the 2013 survey, were more optimistic about the prospects for a two-state solution than were Israelis when they were polled in 2014-15.14 Most U.S. Jews (61%) said in 2013 that they believe a way can be found for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully. Fewer Israeli Jews (43%) take this view, while 45% say a two-state solution is not possible and 10% volunteer that it depends on the situation.

U.S. Jews and Israeli Jews also differ on the impact of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. While a plurality of Jews in Israel (42%) say the continued building of these settlements helps the security of Israel, only 17% of U.S. Jews agree with this view. By contrast, in the U.S., a plurality of Jews (44%) say the settlements hurt Israel’s own security interests; fewer Israeli Jews (30%) take this position.

About half of Israeli Jews (52%) feel their country should be getting more support from the U.S. government, while roughly a third (34%) say the amount of support the U.S. gives Israel is about right. Among Jewish Americans, these figures are flipped: Roughly three-in-ten (31%) say the U.S. does not support Israel enough, while more than half (54%) say U.S. support for Israel is about right (as of 2013).

Self-described political ideology tied to views on peace process and U.S. role in IsraelOn all of these questions, Israeli Jews’ views vary widely based on political ideology. The large segment of Israeli Jews on the political right are far more likely than the smaller number on the left to say a two-state solution is not possible and that settlements help Israel’s security.

Self-described politically liberal and conservative American Jews also offer differing opinions on the two-state solution and the impact of settlements on Israel’s security. But on these two questions, the difference in opinion between Jews on either end of the political spectrum in the U.S. is smaller than the ideological divide on these issues in Israel.

U.S. Jews less likely than Israeli Jews to say Israeli government is sincerely pursuing a peace dealWhile American Jews are more optimistic than Israeli Jews about the possibility of a two-state solution, they are considerably less likely than Israeli Jews to say the Israeli government – controlled by a center-right/right-wing coalition for the last several years – is making a sincere effort to achieve peace with the Palestinians (38% vs. 56%). Like Israeli Jews, relatively few American Jews (12%) say the Palestinian leadership is making a sincere effort to achieve peace.

Orthodox Jews in both countries are about equally likely to say the Israeli government is making a sincere effort to bring about a peace settlement. But non-Orthodox Jews in Israel are considerably more likely than their American counterparts to say the Israeli government genuinely seeks a peace settlement (55% vs. 36%).

Once again, in both countries, Jews on either end of the ideological spectrum offer differing opinions on the sincerity of both parties in the peace process (i.e., Jews on the left are less likely than those on the right to say the Israeli government is sincerely pursuing peace and more likely to say Palestinian leaders are sincere). But the ideological divide between left- and right-leaning Jews in Israel is deeper than the divide between liberal and conservative American Jews. Among Israeli Jews on the left, 23% say the Israeli government is making a sincere effort to achieve peace, compared with 70% of those on the right (a 47-point gap). There is a 31-point gap between liberal (27%) and conservative (58%) U.S. Jews on this question.

U.S. Jews widely cite security as Israel's biggest problemWhen it comes to these political issues, one key demographic difference between Jews in the two countries involves age. Younger American Jews (that is, those between the ages of 18 and 29) are more likely than their elders to take a more liberal stance on political issues involving Israel – e.g., more likely to say that a two-state solution is possible and that the U.S. is too supportive of Israel. However, there are few significant differences by age among Israeli Jews.

Perhaps one of the strongest indications that Israeli Jews and U.S. Jews have different perspectives on life in Israel is the question of the biggest long-term problem facing Israel. In response to an open-ended question, roughly equal shares of Israeli Jews cite economic issues (39%) and security (38%) as the biggest long-term problems facing their country. But among U.S. Jews, very few (1%) mention the economy as the biggest long-term problem facing Israel, while fully two-thirds of Jewish Americans cite security (66%). Similar shares in both countries – about one-in-six – say social, religious or political issues are the biggest problem Israel faces.
http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/comparisons-between-jews-in-israel-and-the-u-s/
http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/comparisons-between-jews-in-israel-and-the-u-s/

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