News Brief

Poll: U.S. must stop Iran, stand with Israel

The United States must work hard to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and stand with Israel, a poll of American voters found.

Some 72 percent of those who voted Nov. 4 agreed that “even with all the problems that America faces at home now, we must still work hard to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” according to the Election Day survey of 800 commissioned by The Israel Project.

In addition, 66 percent said America should be a supporter of Israel, with just 6 percent saying America should be a supporter of the Palestinians. Some 80 percent of those who called themselves Republicans and 59 percent of Democrats said America should support Israel.

Asked about the top two foreign policy priorities of the next president, “ending the war in Iraq” garnered 56 percent; “restoring global economic growth” garnered 41 percent; and “defeating al-Qaida and the Taliban” received 35 percent. Lower priorities included “making peace between Israel and the Palestinians” at 19 percent, “dealing with the instability in Pakistan” at 15 percent and “meeting the threat of Putin’s Russia with 8 percent.

“Even though Americans endured a long and difficult election, at the end of the day there is very strong support for Israel and significant concern about Iran as a threat not just to Israel but to the U.S.,” said Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the poll in conjunction with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.

The poll, which was released Sunday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percent.

The Israel Project is a 6-year-old international nonprofit organization that provides journalists and leaders with information about the Middle East.