Your report claims that Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s description of the Palestinians as a “made-up people … could make him a tough sell among American Jews who overwhelmingly support a negotiated settlement” (“Gingrich Needs Boost in New York,” Dec. 16).
Not so. Most people would support a negotiated settlement, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they believe such an outcome is likely. American Jews certainly don’t. The 2011 American Jewish Committee Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion found that a majority of American Jews (55 percent) opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, whereas only 38 percent support its creation.
The survey also found that an overwhelming 76 percent of American Jews agrees with the statement that “The goal of the Arabs is not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel,” whereas only 19 percent disagrees with it. Also, a clear majority of 59 percent of American Jews opposes re-dividing Jerusalem, even if it means a real Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty, while only 37 percent favors this course.
Given these facts, Gingrich shouldn’t have difficulty obtaining a hearing for his views from American Jews about the Palestinians.
National President Zionist Organization of America
