A public opinion poll published by The Jerusalem Post today showed strong bi-partisan opposition to Israeli arms sales to countries governed by dictatorships.
The poll showed that 35.2 percent of the respondents were against selling arms to “racist and dictatorial regimes.” The breakdown by party of persons holding that view was 36.4 percent pro-Labor and 34 percent pro-Likud. Respondents who favored arms sales only to democratic regimes amounted to 27.9 percent of whom 32 percent were pro-Labor and 26 percent pro-Likud. A total of 9.4 percent was undecided. Among them 8.4 percent were pro-Labor and 7.2 percent pro-Likud.
Asked if Israel should take into account the kind of regime it sold arms to, 27.5 percent of the respondents said Israel should sell to any country, irrespective of the kind of government it had. In that category, 32.8 percent were pro-Likud and 23.2 percent pro-Labor.
Questioned specifically about arms sales to Argentina, 53.8 percent responded positively, 29.1 percent were opposed and 17.1 percent were undecided. That sampling was not told before they answered the question that Argentina is ruled by a military dictatorship.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
