A Fox News poll reveals that a solid majority of Americans reject President Barack Obama’s policies on Israel. 54% of respondents voiced disapproval of Obama’s policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while only 30% approved.
The poll was conducted August 10-12, prior to the release of a Wall Street Journal report revealing that the Obama administration last month had blocked a delivery of missiles to Israel and had ordered administration scrutiny of arms transfers to Israel previously conducted on a military-to-military basis.
Respondents to the survey gave Obama even lower marks on his handling of the Israeli-Palestinian situation than on his low-approval handling of foreign policy in general (35% approval), Iraq (37%), or Ukraine (31%). Obama’s overall approval rating was 42%.
The responses showed sharp differences between Republicans and Democrats, white and black Americans, and Americans of different age ranges.
Among Republicans, 74% disapproved of Obama’s policies toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, compared to just 34% of Democrats; 59% of white Americans disapproved of Obama’s handling of the issue, compared to just 24% of black Americans.
Interestingly, younger voters, who are generally viewed as being more supportive of Obama, were more critical of the White House’s Israel policies: 58% of voters under the age of 25 gave Obama a disapproval rating on the issue, versus 44% for voters over the age of 65.
The poll also highlighted the partisan divide on US-Israel relations, as four times as many Republicans (62%) than Democrats (15%) believe the White House should do more for Israel. That division is worrisome for Israel-backers, as support for Israel has historically been bipartisan.
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