TEL AVIV – A new poll shows that Jewish Israelis rank Barack Obama as the “worst” U.S. president for Israel in the last 30 years, the Jewish Journal reported.
An overwhelming majority of Israelis, 63%, put Obama in the “worst” category, while former President Jimmy Carter came a distant second with 16% voting him as “worst” president.
The survey, which was conducted by Panels Politics in Tel Aviv, asked Israelis to vote for the presidents they thought were “best for Israel” and which they believed to be the worst. The list included Obama, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.
The Jewish Journal noted that even among the Israeli left, which comprised 7% of those polled, 35% believed Obama to be the worst. Carter again was second worst with 21%.
Clinton topped the “best” list, with 37% of votes. This despite the fact that Clinton, a Democrat, clashed with Netanyahu, spearheaded a failed peace process, and was opposed to Jewish construction in the West Bank, Gaza and eastern Jerusalem.
As the Jewish Journal explains: “Israelis remember Clinton fondly because, unlike Obama, he was able to convince them that Israel is dear to him.”
Panels Politics conducted a similar survey in 2012, before the collapse of Israeli-Palestinian talks under Obama, and, notably, before the Iran deal. The poll found that 47% of Israelis viewed Obama as “pro-Palestinian while 24% said “neutral and 21% said “pro-Israel.”
In 2015, however, 60% of respondents said the Obama administration was “pro-Palestinian,” and only 9% said it was “pro-Israel.”
For the Jewish Israelis who identified as religious, 81% said Obama was “pro-Palestinian.”
Below are the results of the 2015 survey:
Worst for Israel in the Last 30 Years
Obama 63%
Carter 6%
Bush 1 4%
Bush 2 3%
Reagan 2%
Clinton 0%
Don’t Know 12%
Best for Israel in the Last 30 Years
Clinton 37%
Bush 2 33%
Reagan 8%
Bush 1 6%
Obama 3%
Carter 2%
Don’t Know 11%
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