GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
With Israeli elections scheduled for Monday, May 17th, and the future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the line, the Gallup Poll recently probed American attitudes about Israeli politics. The May 7-9 Gallup survey finds that most Americans believe U.S. interests are at stake in the Israeli election for prime minister. A majority also has a favorable view of the Jewish state. But in the three years since Netanyahu took office, he has not made a strong impression on the American people, although Netanyahu's re-election is favored by a plurality of Americans who have an opinion on the issue.
More than anything, Americans seem to be ambivalent about the Israeli leader who was elected prime minister in 1996 -- shortly after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Asked how they prefer to see next week's election turn out, less than half the U.S. public -- 42% -- want to see Netanyahu re-elected while a third, 31%, think he should be replaced. The remaining 27% have no preference. Similarly mixed views are expressed by Americans when asked about their overall view of Netanyahu. Close to half of Americans have either not heard of the Israeli leader or say they have no opinion of him. Among the remainder who have a view, opinion is more positive than negative, but not widely so, with 34% holding a favorable view of Netanyahu and 20% holding an unfavorable view.
Arafat's Image Worse Than Netanyahu's
While Americans express some ambivalence about Netanyahu, he
clearly enjoys a more positive image in the U.S. than does longtime
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Arafat is viewed favorably by
only one-quarter of Americans but unfavorably by close to half -- a
26% to 44% margin, with 30% unfamiliar or having no opinion.
Slim Majority Favors Palestinian Statehood
One of the key issues in Israeli politics is the issue of
Palestinian control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip -- territories
currently occupied by Israel. Despite Americans' favorable view of
Israel, their generally unfavorable view of Arafat, and separate
Gallup polling showing that American sympathies in the Middle East
lie more with the Israelis than with the Palestinian Arabs, a 53%
majority of the U.S. public favors the establishment of a
Palestinian state in West Bank and Gaza, with only 26% opposed.
Public support for this position is roughly equal in two forms of
the question -- including one that does and one that does not
mention that these territories are currently occupied by
Israel.
Support for Palestinian sovereignty , in the new poll, is particularly high among men and older Americans -- with 61% of both groups favoring statehood.
For results based on the sample of national adults (N=1,025) surveyed May 7-9, 1999, the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
How important do you feel the outcome of the Israeli elections are to the interests of the United States -- very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all?
| Very important | 44% |
| Somewhat important | 39 |
| Not too important, or | 10 |
| Not important at all | 5 |
| No opinion | 2 100% |
As you may know elections for prime minister are coming up in Israel later this month. Would you prefer: [ROTATE: 1) To see current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel re-elected (or) 2) To see current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel replaced by someone else?]
| To see current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel re-elected (or) | 42% |
| To see current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel replaced by someone else (or) | 31 |
| No opinion | 27 100% |
Next, I'd like your overall opinion of some foreign countries. First, is your overall opinion of [Israel] very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, or very unfavorable?
| Very Favorable | Mostly Favorable | Mostly Unfavorable | Very Unfavorable | No Opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | |||||
| 99 May 7-9 |
15% | 53% | 19% | 6% | 7% |
| 99 Feb 8-9 |
18 | 48 | 16 | 7 | 11 |
| 96 Mar 8-10 |
17 | 45 | 18 | 11 | 9 |
Next, I'd like to get your overall opinion of some people in the news. As I read each name, please say if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of this person -- or if you have never heard of him or her.
| Favorable | Unfavorable | Never Heard Of | No Opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palestinian Leader, Yasser Arafat | ||||
| 99 May 7-9 |
26% | 44% | 6% | 24% |
| 98 Dec 28-29 |
35 | 45 | 5 | 15 |
| 98 Dec 4-6 |
24 | 47 | 9 | 20 |
| 94 Jan 6-8** |
23 | 52 | 8 | 17 |
| ** Asked as "P.L.O. Chairman" | ||||
| Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu | ||||
| 99 May 7-9 |
34% | 20% | 19% | 27% |
| 98 Dec 28-29 |
46 | 20 | 15 | 19 |
| 98 Dec 4-6 |
35 | 22 | 19 | 24 |
| 97 Apr 18-20 |
23 | 28 | 23 | 26 |
Do you favor or oppose the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip? BASED ON HALF SAMPLE: N = 501; MARGIN OF SAMPLING ERROR = ± 5 PCT. PTS.
| Favor | Oppose | No Opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99 May 7-9 | 53% | 26% | 21% |
