Poll: U.S. Jews say Israelis are militant
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3054148,00.html#n

A Jewish Agency poll shows a decline in Jewish American interest in Israel,
but more American Jews plan to visit the country
By Yitzhak Benhorin 5 March 2005

A recent poll showed 40 percent of American Jews believe Israelis are
"militant and nationalistic."

The poll also showed the Jewish American community's affiliation with Israel
is on the decline.

According to a poll conducted by the Jewish Agency , which was published
last week in the Jewish-American newspaper Forward, American Jews do not
discuss Israeli-related issues as often as they have in the past, they do
not participate in as many pro-Israel activities, and, in general, they care
less about what is happening with their brothers in Zion.

Although the poll showed 66 percent of American Jews regard Israelis as
"peace and democracy-loving heroes," it also showed that close to 40 percent
believe Israelis are "militant and nationalistic."

In a similar poll conducted two years ago, almost 33 percent of those who
participated said they remain emotionally attached to Israel, but the figure
dropped to 25 percent in the recent poll.

As to the question of whether they are proud of Israel, 38 percent of those
who participated in the poll said they are "very" proud, 38 percent said
they are "often" proud, 29 percent responded they are "sometimes" proud, and
five percent said they are "never" proud of Israel.

As opposed to the previous poll, which showed that 74 percent of American
Jews follow Israel-related news and more than 50 percent discuss Middle East
affairs with their friends, the recent poll showed only 65 percent of
American Jews follow Israel-related news, and only 39 percent discuss Middle
East affairs.

The percentage of American Jews who donate money to Israeli causes has
dropped from 49 to 40, and the percentage of American Jews who participate
in pro-Israel activities has dropped from 27 to 22.

However, a majority of those who participated in the poll said they continue
to preserve other aspects of their Jewish identity, including participation
in local Jewish community activity.

In addition, 15 percent of those who participated in the poll said they plan
to visit Israel, as opposed to only 12 percent in the previous poll.