Wie vertegenwoordigt de positie van de Amerikaanse Joden het best? Daarover woedt een felle discussie tussen de gevestigde mainstream Joodse organisaties en organisaties die vinden dat de VS Israel meer onder druk moet zetten om concessies te doen, zoals de nieuwe lobbyclub J Street, Brit Tzedek wa Shalom, Americans for Peace Now en radikale organisaties als Jewish Voice for Peace. Uit onderstaande enquete blijkt dat de bewering van vooral J Street, dat de Joodse gemeenschap hun voorstellen steunt (geen sancties tegen Iran, praten met Hamas, eenzijdige Israelische concessies) in elk geval niet klopt.
RP
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An annual survey commissioned by the American Jewish Committee found that American Jews overwhelmingly support key Israeli policy positions, even though about 30% of the respondents characterized themselves as "distant" or "fairly distant" in their identification with Israel. 94% of the respondents insisted that Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state in any peace agreement. 75% believe that the ultimate Arab goal is destruction of Israel. 79% believe Israel cannot achieve peace with a Palestinian government that includes the Hamas. A plurality of 49% nonetheless support creation of a Palestinian state. Only 8% support Israel dismantling all of the West Bank settlements, but 52% support dismantling some of the settlements. 51% are opposed to President Obama's call for a complete Israeli settlement freeze. 54% approve of the Obama administration's handling of US-Israel relations. 59% approve of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of Israeli-American relations. 58% oppose Israeli compromise regarding the unity of Jerusalem in any peace settlement. 51% do not believe a time will come when Israel and its Arab neighbors will be able to settle their differences peacefully. 53% of the respondents identified themselves as Democrats, only 16% identified as Republicans, with 30% labeling themselves "independent."
Regarding Iran, 66% of American Jewish respondents would support an Israeli attack on Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons and 56% would support an American attack on Iran. By way of comparison, a Zogby poll in October of 2007 found that 49% of Americans supported a US attack on Iran at the time. No more recent data are available for comparison.
The dovish J Street lobby group has contended that its insistence on an Israeli settlement freeze is representative of the views of a majority of American Jews. The survey does not bear out this contention.
Ami Isseroff
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