A New Poll's Findings

As I do regularly, I try and select relevant data and findings from the The Peace Index published by Tel Aviv University, which always seems to surprise especially as the media manages to present an "Israeli popular opinion" that simply isn't.

Here's from March 2011 (Date Published: 31/03/2011; Survey dates: 23/03/2011 - 24/03/2011)

Should Israel take an initiative or remain passive? Only a minority of the Jewish public (28%) agrees with the position that the Middle Eastern upheavals will create new opportunities and, hence, that Israel should make a new effort to reach a regional peace. The overwhelming majority (70%) accepts the position that the situation at the moment is unclear, and therefore it is better for Israel to remain passive and not do anything. The distribution of views among Israeli Arabs is the opposite, although not a polar opposite: while 58% of Israeli Arabs think Israel should take a peace initiative, a large minority (40%) says Israel should watch the developments in the Arab countries from the sidelines and not do anything.


...And what are the chances of similar Western intervention in the West Bank? An overwhelming majority (75%) of the Jewish public sees the chances for Western intervention in the event of an uprising of Palestinians in the West Bank in which the IDF deploys troops and uses force against the local population as low. In the Arab public as well, a majority, though smaller (59%), sees the chances of this as low.

There was this issue, too:

And what about Western pressure for peace? As for the possibility that the desire to gain favor in the Arab world would lead to greater Western pressure on Israel to advance the peace process with the Palestinians, opinions are divided. Some 51.5% of Jewish Israelis see the chances for this at present as high, while 44% see it as low. Views in the Arab sector are split down the middle, with 47% assessing the chances for Western pressure on Israel as high and just about the same proportion regarding them as low.

And another item:

The Negotiations Index for March, 2011


The Peace Index project includes ongoing monitoring of the Israeli public's attitudes towards peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The monthly Negotiation Index is comprised of two questions, one focusing on public support for peace negotiations and the other on the degree to which the public believes that such talks will actually lead to peace. The aggregated replies to these two questions are calculated, combined, and standardized on a scale of 0-100, in which 0 represents total lack of support for negotiations and lack of belief in their potential to bear fruit, and 100 represents total support for the process and belief in its potential. Each month, the Negotiations Index presents two distinct findings, one for the general Israeli population and the other for Jewish Israelis.

Negotiation Index: General sample 47.0; Jewish sample 45

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UPDATE

Just was sent this:

Foxman's public pressure on Israel:

ADL National Director Abraham Foxman publicly asserted, this week, that it would "help make the case for Israel" if the Netanyahu government decides to present a "diplomatic initiative". Mr. Foxman assured his interviewer that “ninety percent" of American Jews would want the prime minister to "take some kind of initiative”. Israel has to enter into a diplomatic initiative "for Israel’s sake”, Mr. Foxman insisted.

Dummie.

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