Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel

American Jews Continue to Support Obama Push for Two-State Solution, Back Strong U.S. Engagement
March 22, 2010

WASHINGTON -American Jews continue to support the Obama administration’s push for Middle East peace and seek strong U.S. leadership to resolve the conflict, according to a new poll released today by a pro-Israel, pro-peace group.

The J Street sponsored poll, conducted March 17-19, in the aftermath of escalating tensions between Israel and the United States after Israel announced new housing construction in East Jerusalem during Vice President Biden’s recent trip, was released today as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered major policy speeches here.

Like previous surveys, this poll finds solid support in the Jewish community for J Street’s position that peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a core Israeli and American interest and that the United States should take an active leadership role in achieving peace.

American Jews by a four-to-one margin, 82-18 percent, support the United States playing an active role in helping the parties to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, with 73 percent of American Jews supporting this active role even if it means that the United States were to publicly state its disagreements with both the Israelis and the Arabs.

And by a 71-29 percent margin, American Jews support the United States “exerting pressure” on both the Israelis and the Arabs to make the necessary compromises to achieve peace. An earlier J Street poll last March found a similar level of support.

http://jstreet.org/blog/new-poll-american-jews-continue-to-support-obama-push-for-two-state-solution-back-strong-us-engagement/

“I don’t see this as the president throwing Israel under the bus,” he told me. “He’s saying with `swaps.’ It’s not 1967 borders in the abstract. It’s not an edict. It’s a recommendation of a structure for negotiations.”