WASHINGTON (JTA) — The majority of Israelis believe there is a crisis in U.S.-Israel ties and that the Netanyahu government has harmed the relationship, according to a new poll.
A poll commissioned by J Street, the liberal U.S. Jewish Middle East policy group, and released Monday, found that 61.7 percent of respondents said “yes” when asked if there was a crisis in U.S.-Israel relations, while 22.8 percent said the relations were “stable and good.”
Asked whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has harmed or strengthened the relationship, 60.4 percent opted for “harmed,” 9.8 percent said “strengthened” and 16.4 percent said it had no influence on relations.
Netanyahu and President Obama were statistically tied when respondents were asked who was mainly responsible for the crisis. Nearly one quarter each chose Netanyahu and Obama, while 26.4 percent blamed “everyone equally.”
A majority of respondents, 61 percent, favored a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while 32.1 percent were opposed.
Additionally, a slight majority, 52 percent, opposed settlement expansion while 39.5 percent were in favor. The poll, carried out Nov. 9-13 over the phone and the Internet, reached 600 voting-age Israelis.
The questions were authored by pollster Dahlia Scheindlin with data collection by New Wave Media.
