70% of Americans hold favorable view of Israel, new poll finds

Only UK cited more often as best US ally

1 October 2012, 6:09 pm 8 Edit

Seventy percent of Americans view Israel favorably. (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)

JTA — Seventy percent of Americans view Israel favorably, according to a survey conducted by the Foreign Policy Initiative.

Moreover, when asked their view of Israel, nearly 81 percent of political conservatives shared that favorable view, while the number was at 68.5 percent for moderates and approximately 63 percent of liberals.

The survey, called “Foreign Policy Matters in 2012,” was conducted Sept. 15-17 by Basswood Research for the Foreign Policy Initiative. Its margin of error is 3.1 percent.

Some 40 percent of respondents identified as Republicans, 40 percent as Democrats and 20 percent as either independents or with no party affiliation.

Asked the open-ended question about America’s best ally in the world, Israel came in at 15.9 percent, second only to the United Kingdom at 54 percent.

On Syria, nearly 66 percent of Americans supported Washington working “with our allies to establish no-fly zones in Syria to protect civilians and help ensure a transition to a more pro-Western government instead of the terrorist-supporting regime of Bashar al-Assad.”