American voters increasingly view President Barack Obama as anti-Israel, and he is seen as not supportive enough of Israel by a whopping 3-1 margin, according to a new poll from The Hill website.
The Obama administration repeatedly insists it is behind Israel, a message that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden brought to the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference Monday night.
The Hill has carried out polls on Obama’s support for Israel since 2011, and every one shows a deterioration in the President’s stand on Israel as seen by likely voters.
In May 2011, 27 percent of voters said Obama was too supportive of Israel, while 31 percent said he was not supportive enough. The latest poll reveals less than half as many – 13 percent – think he is too supportive while 39 percent see him as not giving enough support.
In the latest of likely voters, 30 percent responded that he is anti-Israel, and 28 percent said he is pro-Israel, nearly the same as a Hill poll in September 2011.
The results of the latest poll come two weeks before President Obama’s planned trip to Israel, where Iran will be a major item for discussion.
The negative numbers are in a large part influenced by Israel’s fears that the United States is not aggressive enough in stopping Iran’s nuclear program.
On the issue of making peace with the Palestinian Authority, voters are more supportive of President Obama’s being involved. The latest poll reveals that a majority of voters said that President Obama should be somewhat or very actively involved, more than twice the number in the May 2011 survey.