The Iraq war overwhelmingly is the top issue for Arab Americans in the presidential elections, while Israeli conflicts barely registered.
Asked to list the three top issues, 61 percent of respondents in an Arab American Institute poll included the Iraq war. The distant second was jobs and the economy, listed by 31 percent. Palestine registered at 3 percent and Lebanon at 2 percent, less than the 4.5 percentage point margin of error in the survey of 501 Arab Americans in the poll conducted by Zogby International.
Respondents nonetheless said that they would favorably regard pledges to work toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and Syria: 64 percent said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who promised an “active role” in the Israel-Palestinian peace process and 58 percent were more likely to vote for a candidate who supported Israel-Syria negotiations.
The survey, carried out from May 22-27, was published Thursday.
