The great majority of Americans reject US President Barack Obama’s policies on Israel, according to a recent poll. The poll, which studied the telephoned responses of over 1,000 random US voters, was conducted by Fox News.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of respondents noted their disapproval of Obama’s policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, whereas just 30% approved.
The responses showed deep divides between Republicans and Democrats, White and Black Americans, as well as different age brackets.
Among Republicans, 74% disapproved of Obama’s policies toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, compared to just 34% of Democrats; 59% of White Americans gave Obama a low approval rating on the issue, compared to just 24% of Black Americans.
In addition, younger voters were slightly more likely to disapprove of the White House’s Israel policies; while 58% of voters under the age of 25 gave Obama a low approval rating on the issue, that percentage gradually fell to 44% for voters over the age of 65.
Likewise, 38% of voters say the White House has “not been supportive enough” of Israel; 33% say it has been “about right” in its support; and just 18% believe Obama has been “too supportive” of Israel.
The poll also highlighted the deep political divide on US-Israel relations, as four times as many Republicans (62%) than Democrats (15%) believe the White House should do more for Israel.
Oddly, the poll revealed a slight increase in Obama’s approval rating on Israel, with a 1% rise in approval for Obama and a 2% decrease in disapproval.
Some or part of the change could be attributed to the White House’s general support of Israel during Operation Protective Edge and its pledge to allocate an additional $225 million in taxpayer funding to the Iron Dome Missile Defense System, which has saved millions of Israeli lives from Hamas rocket fire.
However, the vast disapproval seems to refer to a general sense of pressure being exerted by Obama on Israel.
A Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday night revealed that Obama’s administration blocked a recent missile transfer to Israel, and ordered greater scrutiny for future requests.
