Obama gains popularity in poll of Israelis

[Forkboy]

WASHINGTON - President Obama is not as unpopular in Israel as has been previously reported, according to a new poll released yesterday by the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.

In August, the Jerusalem Post published poll results indicating that just 4 percent of Israelis consider the Obama administration pro-Israeli - results that have been interpreted as a stunning low-favorability rating. But in the New America poll, which questioned a representative sample of 1,000 Israelis in November, 41 percent of respondents viewed Obama as favorable, while 37 percent said they found him unfavorable - only four points higher than the unfavorability rating of George W. Bush, who is widely considered popular among Israelis.

In the poll, conducted by pollster Jim Gerstein, 52 percent of the Israelis questioned said Obama’s presidency is good for the world, compared with 39 percent who said it is bad. The poll also indicated that 55 percent of the respondents believe Obama is honest and trustworthy, compared with just 36 percent who believe the same of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Still, Israelis strongly back Netanyahu’s policies on security, with 69 percent approving of the way he is handling that issue.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/12/11/obama_gains_popularity_in_poll_of_israelis/

[nemo137]

1. I'm not particularly surprised.

JPo is stunningly right-wing, and in my experience most Israelis live in the same reality as the rest of us.

[Clio the Leo]

2. And a whole bunch of them think he's a Muslim....

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/poll-39-of-israelis-believe-obama-is-a-muslim.php