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Mideast 101: Evolution of U.S. feelings toward Israel
CNN Editor's note: In our Mideast 101 series, CNN correspondents will take a look beyond the daily events at the forces that propel this seemingly interminable struggle in the Middle East. The Middle East conflict has gone on longer than the Cold War. During the Cold War, American public opinion remained steadfast in its opposition to the Soviet Union. But American public sympathies have not always been as steadfast in the Middle East. In 1948, a few years after the Holocaust, the United States was the first country to recognize the new State of Israel, which immediately had to fight for its independence. At the time, 36 percent of Americans said they sympathized with, "the Jews,'' compared with 14 percent who sympathized with the Arabs. That left half the American public indifferent to the conflict.
That was the story for almost 20 years: Americans were more sympathetic to Israel, but largely indifferent. As a result, when the United States opposed Israel in the Suez crisis of October 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower faced little public backlash. A month later, Eisenhower won re-election by a landslide -- which included record high Jewish support. In those days, many American Jews were neutral toward Israel. They were sensitive to the charge of dual loyalties. As late as 1964, only 25 percent of Americans said they sympathized with Israel, and 7 percent with the Arabs. Still, two-thirds took neither side. Everything changed after the 1967 Six-Day War. Here was tiny Israel, bold and triumphant while the U.S. superpower was mired down in Vietnam. Public support for Israel nearly doubled. In the years after the Six-Day War, a large plurality, and often a majority, of Americans has expressed support for Israel over the Arabs in poll after poll. That suggests the American public's support for Israel is not based on sympathy for persecuted Jews or pity for victims of the Holocaust. It's based on admiration for Israel's success and determination. Americans like winners. In a recent survey, half of Americans say they sympathize with Israel in the current conflict, compared with 15 percent who sympathize with the Palestinians. Still strong. But sympathy for Israel has to contend with another powerful impulse in American public opinion: the desire to stay out of conflicts far from home. When asked which side the United States should take in the current conflict, a resounding 71 percent of Americans say "neither side.'' Americans may sympathize with Israel. But they don't want to get involved in its war. The United States plays two roles in the Middle East. Ardent supporter of Israel. And honest broker between the two sides. It's hard to balance those two roles. But both of them have strong support in U.S. public opinion. |
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