Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak (right). Photo: wiki commons.

More than a third of Israelis believe a nuclear Iran might lead to a second Holocaust and over 41% of Israelis believe that only a military strike on Iranian facilities will stop the Islamic Republic from producing a nuclear bomb, according to new polling numbers from the Ma’ariv Newspaper.

The poll was conducted earlier this week and asked Israelis a number of timely questions, including their trust of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whether a military strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure should be carried out by the United States or Israel, and whether international sanctions aimed at deterring Iran from producing a nuclear weapon is an effective strategy.

40% of Israelis put their trust in Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on the Iran issue, while 27% said they do not trust the two leaders.  Jewish Israelis offered a slightly higher level of trust for the two men inside Israeli government widely believed to be the biggest proponents of a military strike against Iran, at 45%.

Asked whether the U.S. or Israel should undertake a military operation to stop Iran from attaining nuclear weapon(s) capability, 35% favor an American strike while 40% would support an Israeli one instead.

Meanwhile, 37% of Israelis said that if Iran were to obtain a nuclear bomb, they believe a second Holocaust is possible.

The poll was conducted through telephone interviews and sampled 501 Israeli adults.