Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

No question about it, the American Jewish withdrawal advocacy group, J
Street, declared war on the incoming Netanyahu administration in particular
and the Jewish State in general with a poll that they released.

[The group is a "withdrawal advocacy group" rather than a "peace" group
because there is no discernable connection between the policies that they
advocate - withdrawal - and true peace.]

For the complete poll:
www.jstreet.org/files/images/J_Street_Survey_March_2009_Final_Results.doc

Take a look at the ideas they use the format of poll questions to introduce:

Would you support or oppose the United States playing an active role in
helping the parties to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict if it meant the
United States publicly stating its disagreements with Israel?

Would you support or oppose the United States playing an active role in
helping the parties to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict if it meant the
United States exerting pressure on Israel to make the compromises necessary
to achieve peace?

Middle East peace is a core American interest, and the United States should
use assertive diplomacy to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

It does not bother me when American Jews disagree publicly with Israeli
government policy.

The United States should propose a detailed plan to resolve the Arab-Israeli
conflict and assertively use our influence to lead the parties to implement
this American plan.

Jewish organizations that lobby Congress to support every Israeli government
policy are not helping Israel's security

Using incentives such as economic aid, military assistance, and support in
international institutions, the United States has the leverage to impose a
peace agreement on the Israelis and Palestinians.

I am concerned that other Americans will end up resenting American Jews
because of America's perceived favoritism toward Israel under all
circumstances.

With Hamas launching rockets into southern Israel that killed many Israeli
civilians and Israel launching air and ground strikes that killed many
Palestinian civilians, neither side has a monopoly on who is right and who
is wrong.

With hundreds of Palestinian civilian deaths and a humanitarian crisis
resulting from a month of no electricity and clean water throughout Gaza,
Israel's response to Hamas' attacks was disproportionate

Israeli military actions that target terrorists, but kill Palestinian
civilians create more terrorism instead of preventing terrorism

Israel has the right to defend itself, but it must also take into account
humanitarian considerations and avoid collective punishment of the entire
Palestinian population by closing the borders and causing major civilian
hardship

Below is a list of actions the United States could take to try convincing
the Palestinians and Israelis to accept this peace agreement today. For each
action, please mark whether you approve or disapprove that action.

- Publicly state which party is responsible for blocking the agreement from
being reached

- Reduce economic aid for any party that blocks the agreement from being
reached

- Reduce military aid for Israel if it blocks the agreement from being
reached

- Reduce American support for Israel in international institutions if it
blocks the agreement from being reached

And here is the question seriously distorting what Lieberman said: "As you
may know, Israel had an election earlier this month. The party receiving the
third largest number of seats is led by Avigdor Lieberman who has previously
called for the execution of Arab members of Israel's parliament who met with
Hamas and whose main campaign message called for Arab citizens of Israel to
sign a loyalty oath to the Jewish state in order to prevent their
citizenship from being revoked. Do you support or oppose these positions?"]
------

Third of American Jews: Lieberman weakens our bond with Israel
Poll held among American Jews reveals that Yisrael Beiteinu chairman is not
held in high esteem within community, some 60% of whom oppose views he
expressed during elections. Some 75% support decreased financial aid to
Israel should Jewish state be party to put skids under signing agreement
with Palestinians
Yitzhak Benhorrin YNET Published: 03.23.09, 19:42 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3691102,00.html

Washington- According to a poll conducted by liberal American lobby group 'J
Street,' 32% of American Jews say that the appointment of Yisrael Beiteinu
Chairman Avigdor Lieberman as a cabinet minister will weaken their ties with
Israel.

The poll's results, released on Monday, examined the position of American
Jews regarding President Barack Obama's policies on the Middle East, the
election results in Israel, the possibility for a right-wing coalition in
Israel, and Lieberman's political positions.

Jim Gerstein, who conducted the study on behalf of J Street, found it
worrisome that the appointment of one person could cause such a high
percentage of people to distance themselves from Israel. He noted that
amongst young people below the age of 30, that statistic rises to 40%
because of the anti-democratic nature of Lieberman's statements.

Gerstein said statistics clearly showed that Lieberman is not very popular
amongst American Jews.

The poll showed that 60% of respondents knew who Lieberman is, and 69% of
them are opposed to the positions he took during the elections campaign.
Despite the fact that many said that Lieberman's appointment as a cabinet
minister would put a damper on their connection with Israel, 58% said that
it would not change their relationship with the country. Ten percent said
that it would actually strengthen their connection with the Jewish state.

In general, it seems as though the American Jewish community is not overly
enthused by the concept of a hawkish right-wing Israeli government. The poll
showed, however, that in a confrontation between Israel and the Obama
administration, most American Jews would side with Obama. Gerstein noted
that such support is exceptional, noting that the Jews of America support
the American policy on the Middle East.

'Decrease aid if Israel holds up peace'
Some 76% of poll respondents believe that Obama supports Israel.
Seventy-three percent said that he shares their values, and 72% support his
management of the Israeli-Arab conflict. In accordance, 58% of respondents
support American involvement in the peace process, even if it means
America's public disagreement with Israel.

Some 57% of those polled are for applying the necessary pressure on Israel
to make compromises necessary for peace. A similar figure was published for
those opposed to the settlements in the West Bank.

The J Street poll showed that 77% of respondents believe that the United
States should declare which side is holding up the peace process, and 75%
believe that financial aid to Israel should be decreased should the Jewish
state be the party responsible for putting the skids under the peace
process. Some 49% even support decreasing military aid in such a case.

In regards to security, 75% of respondents supported Operation Cast Lead,
41% of whom believe the military operation improved Israel's security and
41% believe the opposite to be true.

And why do the respondents support Israel? Thirty-five percent answered
"Because I'm Jewish and Israel is the Jewish state," 31% because "Israel and
the United States are allies in the Middle East, and this serves the US's
security interests," 19% because "Israel is a democracy and this is in line
with my values," and 6% because "I have friends and family in Israel." Of
those participating in the poll, only 3% responded that they do not support
Israel.