The shabby way the Obama Administration has treated America’s main ally in the Middle East seems to have had the opposite effect on the way Americans in general feel about Israel.
A new Gallup Poll released Saturday shows that Americans still view Israel as “their favorite country in the Middle East.” Construction of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria has not dampened American admiration for the Jewish State.
Gallup says 72 percent of poll respondents have a “very favorable” view of Israel, the highest rating since Gallup began the poll in 2010 when it was 67 percent.
Other countries in the Middle East did not fare anywhere near as well – they all went backwards.
Forty-five percent of Americans view Egypt favorably. That is up from 40 percent last year when the country was engulfed in political strife, and the Muslim Brotherhood was in charge, but still down sharply from 58 percent recorded in 2010.
Saudi Arabia ranked 35 percent favorable while just 19 percent view Libya favorably, possibly due to the Lockerbie bombing and the Benghazi debacle.
Only 19 percent are favorable towards the Palestinian Authority, a possible reflection on the way the PA always plays “victim” and for teaching hatred to schoolchildren.
Not surorisingly, only 16 percent view Iraq favorably, and only 13 percent have a favorable view of Syria.
It was to be expected that Iran would hit an all-time low, but at 12 percent favorable, it is surprising it is not lower.
Last Wednesday, Human Rights Watch reported that the Syrian government was using banned cluster bombs on its own citizens during the ongoing civil war. Kimberly Jones also reported First, Wiki Leaks, Then Snowden Leaks, Now Assad Leaks
Syria’s new polling may yet reach an all-time low for any country ever surveyed, as the war there drags on. Except that it could be the people voting positively for Syria may not be paying any attention to what is going on there. It wouldn’t surprise me.
