[Peace-discuss] On Israeli Settlement Freeze, Public Has Obama's Back

[David Green]

"WorldPublicOpinion.org has just released a poll showing that
three-quarters of Americans oppose Israeli settlement expansion in the
West Bank. This number is up 23 points from 2002."

Bob,

As I was last night at the event, I'm confused by what the implications are of what (uninformed) Americans think about criminal behavior conducted by other countries and supported by our own government.  Does progress depend on increasing numbers of Americans supporting the same level of criminal behavior, but not more of it? Is this the exceptional case (especially in foreign policy) where our politicians will follow the wishes of their constitutents (especially when they can turn to the Lobby for support)? Is it a good strategy to try to convince Americans that there are finally enough Jewish-only settlements connected to each other and to Israel by Jewish-only roads? Seriously, I don't follow the implications of this.

David



________________________________
From: Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>
To: Peace-discuss List <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Friday, May 1, 2009 3:07:20 PM
Subject: [Peace-discuss] On Israeli Settlement Freeze, Public Has Obama's Back

There have been hints in the press that the Obama Administration has
been considering conditioning U.S. aid to Israel on a real freeze of
Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank. There's a conventional
wisdom that suggests that doing this would touch a "third rail of
politics." But the conventional wisdom might not have been accurate;
if it once was accurate, it might not be accurate any more.

WorldPublicOpinion.org has just released a poll showing that
three-quarters of Americans oppose Israeli settlement expansion in the
West Bank. This number is up 23 points from 2002.

Even among respondents who say they sympathize with Israel more than
the Palestinians, 64% say Israel should not build settlements in the
West Bank.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/on-israeli-settlement-fre_b_194751.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/1/16023/82798

--
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
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