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Rice: out of step with American sentiment?
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| By israelinsider staff March 26, 2007 |
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As U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice embarks on her latest Mideast mission, trying to impose on Israel talks with the Hamas-led Palestinian government on the basis of the warmed-over 2002 "Saudi Plan" endorsed by the Arab League, demanding that Israel withdraw from all territories conquered in the 1967 war, a major new national poll has found American opinion on Israel and Middle East issues sharply at odds with Administration policy.
By a margin of 2-to-1 (45%- 22%), Americans believe that a Palestinian Arab state would be a terrorist state rather than a peaceful democracy;
By a margin of 5-to-1 (60% - 11%), Americans believe that Israel should not make more land giveaways to the Palestinian Arabs.
By a margin of 10-to-1 (45% - 4.6%) Americans overwhelmingly support Israelis over the Palestinian Arabs.
By a margin of more than 5-to-1 (65% - 11%), Americans believe that Saudi Arabia is not a reliable and trustworthy ally in the war against radical Islamic terrorism;
By a margin of nearly 2-to-1 (46% - 24%), Americans believe that Egypt is not a reliable and trustworthy ally in the war against radical Islamic terrorism; and
By a margin of nearly 2-to-1 (51% - 26%), Americans believe that the US should impose economic sanctions on Saudi Arabia until it stops its support and funding for terrorists and radical Islamic education that teaches hatred of America and Israel.
The poll of 1000 randomly selected Americans was commissioned by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the oldest pro-Israel group in the US, and has a margin of error of 3.1%. It was carried out by McLaughlin & Associates, a major national polling company, on March 25, 2007.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, "This poll makes clear that the American public fully understands Israel's difficult plight in dealing with the Arab war against it. Americans understand that establishing a Palestinian state would simply result in but another terrorist state in the Middle East, which is the last thing America needs in its efforts to bring peace and security to the region. The American public has shown that it is completely against appeasing this Palestinian terror regime by offering any more concessions to it. It has shown that it has a far more realistic view of the Arab war against Israel than governments around the world, including the Bush Administration, which has continued to deal with and even fund Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas, despite the PA's on-going refusal to fulfill its obligations under signed agreements and the 2003 Roadmap peace plan to dismantle the apparatus of terror and end incitement to hatred and murder in the Palestinian public square that feeds it. This policy remains in place despite the recent formation of a Palestinian Arab national unity government under the leadership of Hamas, which calls in its Charter for the destruction of Israel (Article 15) and the murder of Jews (Article 7). This new Hamas/Fatah government has refused to recognize Israel, forswear terrorism or fulfill previous agreements."
"Members of the House and Senate should become aware that sanctions against Saudi Arabia for its financial support of radical mosques and spreading the extreme Wahhabi Islamic doctrines, including in American mosques, is something that Americans support. The Bush Administration should also be much tougher on the Palestinian Authority and, instead of engaging and rewarding it, hold it accountable for its pro-terror, anti-peace actions.
This too would be heeding the American public, which overwhelmingly supports Israelis over the Palestinian Arabs. Congress should also take action to convert all aid flowing to Egypt from military aid to purely humanitarian aid, as Americans now realize that Egypt is not the partner in fighting terror it pretends to be. This can be clearly seen in Egypt's refusal to end the massive arms smuggling from Egypt into Gaza of weaponry for Palestinian Arab terrorists and the constant anti-Semitic articles, shows and songs that are a staple of Egyptian culture."
"This poll shows conclusively that the typical American overwhelmingly supports Israel, which is why the overwhelming majority of members of Congress, reflecting their constituencies, also support Israel. If they didn't, they would not be representing the views of their constituencies. This fact refutes the pernicious claim publicized by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt last year that Congressional support for Israel is the result of political pressure by American Jewish pro-Israel individuals and groups and that these pro-Israel policies are against American interests and what most Americans want. This poll should put that anti-Semitic nonsense to rest ."
"This poll also indicates that we should stop all talk of establishing a Palestinian Arab state. Americans also understand that the Palestinian Arabs have not taken the minimum steps required to make peace and that peace prospects are consequently next to non-existent. A freeze on funding to the PA and severing ties with it until these vital steps are taken would be well understood by the American public, involve no domestic political fallout and would be the correct response to the situation. Only such pressure has a chance of producing the desired changes in Palestinian society and thus the possibility of peace with Israel." |
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