Survey: Democrats Show Lower Support (40%) for Israeli Actions in Gaza
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America pro-Israel American Jews Democrats Gaza Democrats Israel Israeli Actions Jeffrey Goldberg Keating Holland Pillar of Defense
Dennis Kucinich has been critical of Israel.
Most Americans are supportive of Israel’s actions during Operation Pillar of Defense, but a national survey by CNN shows lower support (40 percent) among those identifying themselves as registered Democratic voters.
“Only four in ten Democrats think the Israeli actions in Gaza are justified, compared to 74% of Republicans and 59% of independents,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
Despite the partisan differential, America remains a staunchly pro-Israel country, with nearly six in 10 Americans remaining firmly sympathetic to Israel, while only 13 percent say they side more with the Palestinians.
“That’s nothing new,” said Holland. “The number of Americans who sympathize more with the Palestinians has never been higher than 18% since the question was first asked in 1988.”
However, the lower numbers amongst registered Democrats might suggest a larger and more troubling long-term sign for Israel.
Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic discussed these concerns on his popular blog leading up to the Nov. 6 election.
“I think it is true that Israel remains popular across a large swath of America. I also think it’s true that this could change, as it already has among many liberals, including among some liberal American Jews,” Goldberg wrote.
6:46 pm
I agree with Mr. Mark. Unfortunately within my Democratic Party reside a distinct minority of ultra-liberals and outright leftists who skew Israel-related results unduly. The overwhelming majority of Democrats are pro-Israel.
2:35 pm
I’m a NYC-based, politically active, non-observant Jew.
For years, I’ve felt that the Israelis were, probably, coming down too hard on the Palestinians.
I’ve a far different view today regarding Hamas. They appear to be evildoers whose horrendous objective, conquering Israel, is based on a new dimension in terrorism: not only are innocents in Israel targeted, but, by placing missiles in crowded urban areas, they’ve jeopardized innocent Gazans who live near the unfired missiles, thereby betting that Israel will go softly in their ‘housekeeping.’ I believe that Israel shoudl do what it must in order to not be terrorized by missiles from Gaza, including destroying any area where it believes that unlaunched missiles are stored.
I believe that the CNN study that states that there had been a deep reduction in support for Israel among Democrats had an identified agenda that was not dependent on factual reality.