Richard Tafoya
Jan 15th, 2009, 05:34 PM
James Zogby in The National (Dubai):
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090116/FOREIGN/770647102/1011/SPORT
Even with the near-unanimous support for Israel demonstrated by the White House and Congress, and the long-standing and deep seated pro-Israel cultural bias demonstrated by most of the US media, the American public still has some ambivalence about Israel’s actions in Gaza.
A Rasmussen poll, for example, conducted in the last week of December, shows the American public unconvinced. In that poll, 44 per cent supported Israel’s military assault against Palestinians in Gaza, while 41 per cent said they felt that Israel should have first tried to find a diplomatic solution.
Especially interesting is the deep partisan split behind the numbers, with 62 per cent of Republicans supporting the Israeli military actions and only 27 per cent of Republicans preferring diplomacy.
Among Democrats, 55 per cent would have preferred diplomacy, and only 31 per cent supported Israel’s actions. Also demonstrating less support for Israel’s behaviour were significant numbers of African-Americans, women, and younger Americans.
A Pew poll, conducted on Jan 11, simply asked whether Americans approved or disapproved of Israel’s military actions. It found only 40 per cent approving, while 33 per cent did not approve and 27 per cent were not sure. Here again, there is a partisan split, with Democrats disapproving by a 45-29 margin.
And when it comes the US response to the crisis, a Gallup poll (Jan 9) found the same ambivalence, with 33 per cent thinking that the US should be doing more to help resolve the conflict, with another 30 per cent thinking that the US was doing enough (with 22 per cent saying the US should be doing less and 16 per cent having no opinion).
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090116/FOREIGN/770647102/1011/SPORT
Even with the near-unanimous support for Israel demonstrated by the White House and Congress, and the long-standing and deep seated pro-Israel cultural bias demonstrated by most of the US media, the American public still has some ambivalence about Israel’s actions in Gaza.
A Rasmussen poll, for example, conducted in the last week of December, shows the American public unconvinced. In that poll, 44 per cent supported Israel’s military assault against Palestinians in Gaza, while 41 per cent said they felt that Israel should have first tried to find a diplomatic solution.
Especially interesting is the deep partisan split behind the numbers, with 62 per cent of Republicans supporting the Israeli military actions and only 27 per cent of Republicans preferring diplomacy.
Among Democrats, 55 per cent would have preferred diplomacy, and only 31 per cent supported Israel’s actions. Also demonstrating less support for Israel’s behaviour were significant numbers of African-Americans, women, and younger Americans.
A Pew poll, conducted on Jan 11, simply asked whether Americans approved or disapproved of Israel’s military actions. It found only 40 per cent approving, while 33 per cent did not approve and 27 per cent were not sure. Here again, there is a partisan split, with Democrats disapproving by a 45-29 margin.
And when it comes the US response to the crisis, a Gallup poll (Jan 9) found the same ambivalence, with 33 per cent thinking that the US should be doing more to help resolve the conflict, with another 30 per cent thinking that the US was doing enough (with 22 per cent saying the US should be doing less and 16 per cent having no opinion).