Survey: Pro-Israel lobby should support Bibi's policies
Poll seeking to establish Israeli attitudes towards Diaspora finds large part of Israelis believes American Jewish organizations should help reconcile differences between Netanyahu government and Obama administration
A large part of Israelis believe that Jewish organizations in the US should do more to bridge the gap between the Israeli government and the American administration, and that they should support current Israeli policies, a new survey found.
According to the poll, 46% of the Jewish population in Israel believes that American Jewish organizations are not doing enough to bridge policy differences and ease the tensions between the Obama Administration and the Netanyahu government. Only 23% say the organizations are doing enough on this front.
The survey found that 57% of adult Israeli Jews believe that the pro-Israel lobby in the US should always support the policies of the current Israeli government, while 32% agreed that such organizations are free to openly oppose the policies of the current Israeli government.
In an expression of strong support for Diaspora Jewry, nearly 60% of Israelis supported the notion that their tax money be used to provide basic services like education, healthcare and food to Diaspora Jewish communities that are struggling in light of the recent global economic situation.
'US Jews should consider Israelis' opinions'
54% of those polled said they support that the Reform and Conservative streams and their Rabbis should receive equal status and funding in Israel to Orthodox streams and their rabbis. Only 36% expressed opposition to this proposition.
In addition, 44% support the State of Israel recognizing Reform and Conservative conversion, while 49% insist that only conversions performed by the Chief Rabbinate should be recognized by the State.
When asked whether Diaspora Jewry should consider the opinions of Israelis when deciding issues like who to vote for or which policies impacting Israel’s future to support or oppose, 53% answered “yes.” But, only 40% believe that Israelis should consider the opinions of Diaspora Jewry when deciding issues like who to vote for or which policies impacting Israel's future to support or oppose.
Speaking about the survey, World Center Director Alan Schneider noted “Attitudes of Israelis towards the Jewish Diaspora are in constant flux and are impacted by events taking place in both communities which this year is punctuated by reports in the media of a crisis in Israel-US relations due to policy differences and issues pertaining to conversion and the status of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism..
"Our survey revealed that the Israeli-Diaspora relationship is very important to Israelis. The concern shown by Israelis for the well-being of the Diaspora and their consideration for the opinions voiced by Diaspora Jewry is unique.”
The telephone survey was conducted June 9-11 and included the Jewish population over the age of 18. 500 people were interviewed and there is a margin of error of +-4.5%. The survey was conducted by KEEVOON Research headed by Mitchell Barak.
