Poll: Most Israelis believe US-Israel ties in crisis

WASHINGTON — A poll shows the majority of Israelis believe there is a crisis in US-Israel relations and that the Netanyahu government has harmed the relationship.

A poll commissioned by J Street, the liberal US Jewish Middle East policy group, and released Monday, found that 61.7 percent of respondents said “yes” when asked if there was a crisis in US-Israel relations, while 22.8 percent said the relations were “stable and good.”

Asked whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has harmed the relationship or strengthened it, 60.4 percent opted for “harmed,” 9.8 percent said “strengthened” and 16.4 percent said Netanyahu’s government had no influence on relations.

Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama were statistically tied when respondents were asked who was mainly responsible for the crisis. Nearly one quarter each chose Netanyahu and Obama, while 26.4 percent blamed “everyone equally.”

A majority of respondents, 61 percent, favored a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while 32.1 percent were opposed.

Additionally, a slight majority, 52 percent, favored settlement expansion while 39.5 percent were opposed. The poll, carried out November 9-13 over the phone and the internet, reached 600 voting-age Israelis.

The questions were authored by pollster Dahlia Scheindlin with data collection by New Wave Media.