US President Barack Obama has secured an overwhelming mandate amongst US Jews, ahead of November’s presidential election, according to the findings of a new survey of the American Jewish opinion regarding the Obama administration and Israel by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
The organisation announced the findings at its Global Forum for Jewish advocacy in Washington.
According to the survey, 61% of all Jews claimed they would vote for Obama ahead of Republican candidate Mitt Romney. 58% of American Jews approve of the way President Obama is handling the US-Israel relationship, with an even higher approval rating (70%) of the way in which Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is handling the relationship.
Speaking at the Anti Defamation League (ADL) National conference in Washington, Steven Simon, Director for Middle East and North Africa at the White House National Security Council, claimed that no other president apart from Obama has done more for Israel’s security:
“We’ve launched a most meaningful and close strategic dialogue through all levels of government. Last year, nearly 200 Israeli and US officials exchanged visits. It’s a priority for this administration to stand up to efforts to delegitimize Israel. We will always reject attempts to equate Zionism with racism. Israel’s security is at the top of President Obama’s security team, when he has said he has Israel’s back, he meant it.”
Over half of those surveyed (55%) believe that prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace are the same today as they were a year ago, with 89% of US Jews identifying themselves as being concerned about Iran’s nuclear programme. 62% of Jews approve of the way Obama is handling the Iran issue, with 56% answering that a combination of sanctions and diplomacy are ‘unlikely’ to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
“Israel knows very well it's not a superpower. There is asymmetry in military capability between Israel and the US; Israel's window of action is much tighter. The attack is not imminent, but Israel's fear is that the Iranians will try to create a wedge between Jerusalem and Washington by the illusion that talks are going somewhere,” stated David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, at the ADL conference.
Whilst 59% of American Jews admitted they have never been to Israel, 71% declared that “caring about Israel is a very important part of my being a Jew.”
Government ministers from across the globe took the opportunity to express support for Israel in addressing the AJC Global Forum. Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird cemented the success of Israeli President Shimon Peres’ recent visit to his country, by declaring that “Israel has no greater friend in the world today than Canada.”
Mr Baird went on to say: “Our strong support for Israel is not about politics at home, and certainly not about winning popularity contests at the United Nations. It’s about values. At the UN and elsewhere, we make it clear that Israel’s right to exist is non-negotiable. We vote against one-sided and unfair resolutions.”
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also addressed the forum in the wake of Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman’s recent visit to Germany.”I am proud that today German-Israeli ties are closer and stronger than ever. We are partners and friends because Israel is a vibrant democracy, the only fully-fledged democracy in the region.”
“We will not remain silent when Israel is threatened or its legitimacy called into question. We will stand up whenever Israel is unfairly singled out in multilateral fora. And we will denounce any incitement against the State of Israel and its right to exist.”

by: Shari Ryness

EJP