Sharon. Popular with U.S. Jews
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U.S. Jews: Arabs want to destroy Israel
78 percent of American Jews think Arabs seek the destruction of Israel, not return of occupied territories, a new American Jewish Committee survey reveals
Most American Jews (78 percent) believe that the goal of the Arabs is not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel, a new annual survey of The American Jewish Committee revealed.
According to the survey, 18 percent of United States Jews think that the Arabs' sole desire is to return to the 1967 borders. However, 65 percent of respondents stated they support the establishment of a Palestinian state, while 36 said they were against it.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won the backing of 67 percent of the poll's participants, who said they strongly support the Israeli leader's handling of relations with the Palestinian Authority and Israel's building of the security fence.
Most American Jews, 60 percent, want Jerusalem to remain united under Israeli control, while 36 percent back a division of the capital.
At the same time, more Jews in the U.S. (46 percent) favor a removal of settlements, than those who are against it (36 percent).
Anti-Semitism in U.S. concerning
The survey further revealed that although 79 percent of American Jews said they believe that the state of Israel is important for their Jewish identity, 59 percent never visited the country.
Twenty percent of respondents visited Israel once, and another 20 percent came to the country twice or more.
American Jews are concerned about anti-Semitism in their country. Most Jews (65 percent) said that anti-Semitism in the U.S. constituted "some kind of a problem," and 27 percent defined it "a very serious problem."
The survey inspected the religious denomination of the Jewish public in the U.S., revealing that 10 percent of American Jews are orthodox, 32 are conservative and 29 reform. One of every four Jews (26 percent) defines himself as 'just Jewish,' and is not affiliated to any synagogue.
Opposed to Iraq war
On the question of the Jewish American attitude toward the Iraq war, the AJC poll discovered that 70 percent oppose the war, while only 28 percent support it. Sixty percent of American Jews disapprove of the way the U.S. government is handling the campaign against terrorism, and 36 percent approve of it.
Almost half of the survey's respondents, 49 percent, said they support the U.S. taking military action against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Forty six percent said they oppose such action.
