As US President Joe Biden prepares to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the 87th United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York City, a new poll showed that a majority of Americans wonder whether his hard-line government shares American values.
The results of the poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Sociology come during a new period of tension between the Biden administration and Israel, dating back to the “judicial reform” proposed by Netanyahu that sparked mass protests in major Israeli cities, and ongoing disagreements over how to deal with Iran and how to deal with it. Dealing with the Palestinians, and the comments of Netanyahu’s political allies that aroused the ire of American officials.
The Associated Press says that “despite the dispute, Biden, who has spoken out in veiled opposition to the legal plan, and Netanyahu are expected to highlight a strong partnership through which the United States continues to support Israel’s security, and Biden will also emphasize that the United States continues to work to expand the Abraham Accords.” Which was concluded during the Trump era, which led to the normalization of Israeli relations with many Arab countries, to include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Although the poll showed that Americans overwhelmingly view Israel as a friend more than an enemy, the poll also found that they are divided over whether Israel is a country that shares common interests and values with the United States.
The Associated Press-NORC poll found that “about 4 in 10 Americans described Israel as a partner with which the United States should cooperate, but they also said that Israel does not share American interests and values, while only about 3 in 10 said “Israel is an ally that shares the interests of the United States.”
According to the poll, Republicans (44%) are more likely than Democrats (25%) to describe Israel as an ally with shared values. About 2 in 10 Americans described Israel as either a competitor or adversary to the United States.
The Associated Press, which revealed its poll on Tuesday, indicates that the United States gives Israel approximately $4 billion annually in military aid (and other aid), and the close relationship has continued over the decades despite infrequent disagreements over policy, most notably over Iran and the treatment of the Palestinians.
The poll revealed that 61% of Americans disapprove of the way Biden is dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with only 35% approving his current policy, which is considered slightly lower than Biden's overall approval rate.
The poll found that about 4 in 10 Americans, or 44%, believe that the United States provides the appropriate amount of support for Israel, while 27% said it supports Israel too much and 23% does not support it enough.
Almost the same percentage, 42%, say that the right amount of support is being provided to the Palestinians, while 30% say they want more support and 21% want less.
Among Republicans, the poll found that 34% of Americans want the United States to provide more support for Israel, but slightly more (40%) say the current level is sufficient, while only 11% of Democrats said the United States needs to provide more support. Aid to Israel. The poll found that about half of Democrats said the current amount was "about right," while only about a third said the United States supports Israel too much.
Regarding the Palestinians, about two-thirds of Americans are neutral, with 37% (of respondents) saying that they do not sympathize with Israel or the Palestinians, while 29% said that they sympathize with both equally.
A similar percentage (58%) said that they neither support nor oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, while 22% support it and 15% oppose it.
The survey of 1,165 adults was conducted August 10-14 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
At the Biden-Netanyahu meeting on Wednesday, Biden is expected to reaffirm the firm American commitment to Israel's security. Biden is also expected to give the Israeli Prime Minister one of his main demands - entry into the US Visa Waiver Program, which will allow Israelis to visit the United States on a temporary basis without a visa. .
US law requires that Americans, including Palestinian Americans, be treated the same way in order to qualify for the program.
It is noteworthy that US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in his response to the Al-Quds correspondent’s question last week, that Israel “has taken several steps to ensure equal treatment for all Americans entering Israel, and that he has until the end of this September to prove that the standards are met.”