Seth:
>Let me pick a different bone. I don't think Israel has a
majority of public
>support in the US. I think a tiny minority of Americans support
Israel and a
>slightly smaller minority support the Palestinians.
Another important factor in all this talk about members of Congress kissing up to the Jewish vote is that American Jews are less hawkish than has been commonly thought. See this poll (for whatever polls are worth):
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011110/ts/mideast_usa_jews_poll_dc_1.html
Poll: Most American Jews Back a Palestinian State NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most American Jews support a Palestinian state and believe that reducing Middle East violence will help maintain global support for the U.S. war on terrorism, according to an opinion poll released on Saturday.
The poll of U.S. Jews also found that 85 percent thought it was very important for Washington to take an active role in trying to end the violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
Nearly three-quarters said the United States should become actively involved in the peace process even if this led to disagreements with Israel.
And more than two-thirds backed the deployment of a U.S.-led observer force in the Middle East to keep down violence.
The Palestinians have repeatedly sought an international observer force in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. But the United States, Israel's closest ally, has blocked action on the plan in the U.N. Security Council. Israel strongly opposes international monitors.
According to the survey, an identical 57 percent of U.S. Jews both backed a Palestinian state and thought reducing the level of Middle East violence would help Washington's campaign against terrorism, launched after Sept. 11 suicide airliner attacks on the United States.
DESCRIBED AS EXTENSIVE
The survey of 602 people was the most extensive national poll of American Jews conducted since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to its sponsors, the Israel Policy Forum, the New York Jewish Week and the Wilstein Institute of Jewish Policy Studies.
The poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, was carried out last week and released hours after President Bush (news - web sites) endorsed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
''The American government stands by its commitment to a just peace in the Middle East,'' Bush told the U.N. General Assembly. ''We are working toward the day when two states -- Israel and Palestine -- live peacefully together within secure and recognized borders, as called for by the Security Council resolutions.''
At least 701 Palestinians and 187 Israelis have been killed since September 2000, when Palestinians rose up against Israeli occupation after Mideast peace talks bogged down.
''The last time President Bush announced that in principle, he favored a Palestinian state alongside Israel, there was a lot of vocal opposition and concern,'' said Jonathan Jacoby of the New York-based Israel Policy Forum.
''This poll shows not only that the American Jewish community would endorse such a state and supports the president, it also understands that after September 11, continued Israeli-Palestinian conflict makes the campaign against global terror more difficult,'' Jacoby said in a statement.