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U.S. Jews Still Support Obama on Israel

But less than they do Netanyahu, and less than they did in November

by
Michael Weiss
September 30, 2009
Obama at an AIPAC conference last year.(Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)
Obama at an AIPAC conference last year.(Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

Barack Obama’s Jewish support is slipping, according to the American Jewish Committee’s Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion. A poll conducted between August and September that canvassed 800 American Jews found that 51 percent disagree “with the Obama Administration’s call for a stop to all new Israeli settlement construction.” Moreover, more approve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Israeli-American relationship than they do of Obama’s handling of it, though a majority—54 percent—approve of Obama’s handling, too. (Only 32 percent disapprove.) Also, more American Jews support military action against Iran and are more pessimistic about the chances for peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict than they are optimistic. Unsurprisingly, Orthodox Jews—about 9 percent of the survey respondents—were tougher on the president than Reform, Conservative, and other Jews.