American voters believe by a 2-1 margin that a Palestinian state would be a terrorist state and not a democracy, a new poll shows. A total of 45.3 percent of respondents in a McLaughlin and Associates poll commissioned by the Zionist Organization of America answered “terrorist state” to the question, “If a Palestinian Arab state were established, do you believe it would more likely be a peaceful democracy or a terrorist state?” Those answering “peaceful democracy” amounted to 22.6 percent, and “don’t know/refused” accounted for another 32.1 percent. The preceding question asked: “As part of an attempt to bring peace to the region, Israel has given the Palestinian Arabs all of the disputed land in Gaza and almost half of the disputed land in the West Bank; however, the Palestinian Arab government has not made serious efforts to stop hatred and terrorism against Israel. In your opinion, should Israel give up more land to the Palestinian Arabs?” Respondents answered 60.4 percent “no,” 11.8 percent “yes” and 27.8 percent “don’t know/refused.” Pollsters surveyed 1,000 likely voters earlier this month. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
