Poll: Most Americans against Netanyahu US trip
CNN survey finds majority of respondents think House Speaker Boehner should not have extended invitation to Netanyahu to speak before Congress without consulting with White House, in contrary to an earlier poll conducted by YouGov/Huffington Post.
A majority of Americans think Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner should not have invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress without seeking approval of the White House, a CNN/ORC survey found on Wednesday, contrary to an earlier poll that reached the opposite conclusion.
In a survey of 1,027 adult Americans interviewed from February 12-15, 2015, 63 percent of respondents said it was a bad move for Republican congressional leaders to coordinate the speech without consulting with the Obama administration. Thirty-three percent, meanwhile, said they believed it was the right thing to do.
Blindsided by the invitation that Republicans in Congress extended to Netanyahu, President Barack Obama has declined to meet the Israeli leader, citing what he said is US protocol not to meet world leaders in such close proximity to national elections, due to take place in Israel on March 17.
The speech has been the subject of immense controversy both in Israel and the US, on two separate issues - the timing and the breach of protocol in the United States.
When respondents were asked about the involvement of the United States in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a majority of Americans, 66 percent, said the US should not intervene. Among respondents who were in favor of supporting one side over the other, 29 percent said they support Israel, while only 2 percent back the Palestinians.
The margin of error of the study was ±3 percent.
An earlier poll recently conducted by international internet-based market research firm YouGov and the Huffington Post, found contrasting results, with a majority of respondents saying they believed Obama should meet with Netanyahu when the premier visits Washington next month.
In the survey, 49 percent said it was inappropriate for a member of Congress to invite a foreign leader to speak in the US without first consulting with the White House – 26 percent found that such an invite would be appropriate while 25 percent said they were unsure.
When the question specifically addressed the case of House Speaker Boehner inviting Netanyahu to address Congress without approval, and mention the White House calling the invitation a breach of protocol, 47 percent found the invitation inappropriate, 30 percent found it appropriate and 23 percent were unsure.
Yet, when respondents were asked whether they believe their member of Congress should attend Netanyahu's speech, 46 percent said yes, while 28 percent said no.
Furthermore, when asked if President Obama should meet with Netanyahu during his visit, the majority of respondents, 58 percent, said yes, while 19 percent said no.
Reuters contributed to this report.
