Poll Shows Overwhelming Opposition to U.S. Selling Arms to Jordan

The American public is overwhelmingly opposed to the sale by the United States of sophisticated weapons to Jordan and believes that such a sale, if undertaken, should be made on condition that Jordan agrees to make peace with Israel, according to a national survey conducted for the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith by Garth-Furst International/Penn & Schoen Associates.

The poll was conducted May 8-10 among 1,007 randomly selected Americans across the country. The results of the poll were disclosed today at on ADL news conference at the organization’s headquarters here.

The results of the poll show that 66 percent of the American public oppose the sale of American arms to Jordan, 21 percent favor it while 13 percent are undecided. At the same time, 53 percent said the sale should be based on Jordan’s willingness to move toward peace with Israel while 33 percent said this should not be a factor in arms sales to Jordan.

SEES INCREASED SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

Commenting on the results of the poll, David Garth, the pollster whose firm conducted the survey, said: “What is most interesting is that during a period of heavy negative press reports from Israel, and increased strain between Washington and Jerusalem, there appears to be no erosion of support for Israel. On the contrary, since August 1981, the American public has increased its support for Israel and continues to view Israel as America’s best friend in the Mideast.”

Garth pointed out that in response to the question, “Should the U.S. give stronger support to Israel or to the Arabs?” 50 percent of the public said Israel, 9 percent said the Arabs and 22 percent said neither. By contrast, a similar poll conducted in August 1981 showed that 47 percent of the public favored increased American support to Israel against II percent who supported increased support for the Arabs.

Other highlights of the poll show that more Americans believe that Israeli settlements on the West Bank contribute to greater instability in the Mideast (47 percent, compared with 44 percent in 1981); 54 percent of the American public believes that President Reagan’s commitment to Israel has changed since he was elected, and 46 percent believe it hasn’t changed; and 44 percent think that Saudi Arabia will never negotiate with Israel while 43 percent believe she will.

PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE MIDEAST

The survey also found the following perceptions about the Mideast among Americans:

Since the death of Anwar Sadat, Americans’ perception that Egypt is the country doing the most to bring peace to the Middle East has diminished. In August, 1981, 43% said Egypt was doing the most, now 34% listed Egypt. The view that Israel is the country doing the most to bring peace to the Middle East rose from 16% to 21%.

If America had to choose between having Israel or Saudi Arabia as an ally, 62% said Israel (up from 58% in August, 1981), and 23% cited Saudi Arabia (down from 27% in August, 1981.)

In a series of questions about public attitudes toward Saudi Arabia since the AWACS vote, it is clear that the public does not believe that Saudi Arabia has made any concessions to the U.S. as a result of that vote.

Sixty percent believe that Saudi Arabia’s attitude toward U.S. efforts to bring peace to the Middle East has not changed; 22% believe that in response to the AWACS sale, Saudi Arabia has raised oil prices, 27% believe they have lowered oil prices, and 33% believe prices have remained unchanged. In sum, the message is that Americans don’t think the U.S. got anything in return for the AWACS sale.

Other findings of the survey include:

Sixty-eight percent believe the U.S. should continue to seek peace through the Camp David peace process, while 24% of the public believe Camp David is at a dead end.

A majority of Americans believe Saudi Arabian investments in the U.S. give them too much influence in the U.S.

Forty-one percent of the public would be more likely to vote for a candidate for the U.S. Senate if he were a strong supporter of military aid to Israel; 33% said they would be less likely, and 17% said it would have no effect.

When asked whether Israeli attacks on PLO military installations in Lebanon have been justified or not, 43% believed these attacks were justified and 36% believed they were not.