With the internet abuzz with articles and opinion about Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to Washington and upcoming speech, it might be a good time to remind everyone of a few things.
First, America supports Israel. During the first week of Operation Protective Edge this past summer, when tensions were high and Israel's foes and supporters both got out to rally (with the anti-Israel side even becoming violent at times, especially abroad), Pew Research did a study which found the American support for Israel near record highs. Palestinian supporters were only able to convince 14 percent of Americans, but 51 percent backed Israel.
Second, Americans are worried about the Iran deal. Only 11 percent, that's right ELEVEN percent, of Americans view Iran favorably. As for Iran's development of nuclear weapons, 77 percent of Americans see it as a critical threat.
In American's views of Middle Eastern countries, Israel ranks highest, and Iran ranks the lowest. In a Gallup Poll, Israel was viewed as most favorable at 72 percent with the second favorable being Egypt at only 45 percent. The Palestinian Authority got a mere 19 percent of the vote, and Iran was at the bottom at 12 percent.
Even Arab governments are concerned over the Iran deal.
Third, President Obama's most recently reported approval rating in February was only at46 percent, which is seven percent lower than the average for the Presidents who served from 1938 till the present. While 46 percent approve, 49 percent disapprove and 5 percent aren't sure. This means that there are more Americans who disapprove of the job Obama is doing than those who approve.
Another study shows the gap between Democrats and Republicans. While Obama's overall approval rating for his sixth full year in office was 79 percent among Democrats, it was 9 percent among Republicans.
With headlines like, "With Dozens Bailing, Will PM Address Empty Seats at Congress?", one might wonder what in the world is going on. Only about a year ago, Obama said that “We do not have a closer friend or ally than Israel and the bond between our two countries and our two peoples is unbreakable.” Now, when the leader of our closest ally comes for a visit, the President does not welcome him, supporting instead the country Americans consider to be one of our top four enemies.
The truth is, Israeli PM Netanyahu IS welcome in the US, Americans DO support Israel, and in fact, a quick look at the numbers shows that a higher percentage of Americans support Israel than our own President. Most likely, despite these scary headlines, Netanyahu will be speaking to a packed house filled with plenty of people who want to hear what he has to say.
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