[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA

In contrast to the Haaretz commissioned poll, a poll commissioned by IMRA by
Maaagar Mochot carried out 16-17 March of 511 adult Israeli Jews found
support for Netanyahu's decision to continue construction in Jerusalem
62%:26% with respondents saying that President Obama favors Arabs over
Israelis 42%:9% (34% said he was neutral).]

Haaretz Poll: Most Israelis see Obama as fair and friendly

By Yossi Verter Haaretz Last update - 02:12 19/03/2010
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1157483.html

U.S. President Barack Obama's popularity may be declining in American public
opinion, but a sweeping majority of Israelis think his treatment of this
country is friendly and fair, according to a Haaretz-Dialog poll conducted
this week.

The poll also found that most Israelis don't believe politicians who call
Obama anti-Semitic or hostile to Israel, or who say he is "striving to
topple Netanyahu."

The poll, which was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday and supervised by
Professor Camil Fuchs, comes after reports of a crisis in diplomatic
relations due to Israel's announcement during a visit by U.S. Vice President
Joe Biden that it will build 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aides said they had hoped the public
would rally around him and see him as a victim of overly strict treatment by
the Obama administration.

However, there was no significant change in the level of public satisfaction
with Netanyahu since the previous poll, conducted six weeks earlier.
Respondents' evaluation of his suitability as premier also remained stable.

It appears the public was relatively unfazed by the Israeli and American
media frenzy over the diplomatic drama. Perhaps Israelis are too busy
cleaning and shopping for Passover or looking for cheap vacations.

The survey indicates that Netanyahu emerged from the crisis unscathed in the
eyes of Israeli public opinion, but the continued construction in Jerusalem
should cause him some concern.

Nearly half the respondents (48 percent) said Israel must keep building in
the capital, even at the expense of a rift with the United States, while 41
percent said Israel must accept the American demand (and Palestinian
ultimatum) to stop building in Jerusalem until the end of the negotiations
(which haven't begun yet). Netanyahu may conclude that at the moment he may
have some room to maneuver, but the balance between supporters and opponents
of continued construction could easily shift.

A large majority believes Netanyahu is not deliberately causing a crisis to
thwart talks with the Palestinians, as some have argued. A smaller majority
does not believe Netanyahu should fire Eli Yishai, whose Interior Ministry
announced the construction during Biden's visit. Yishai is not particularly
liked by the mainstream, but Israelis aren't that interested in seeing heads
roll - or the coalition destabilized - over this incident.

Though the public remained composed in the face of the diplomatic fracas,
poll respondents are not thrilled with the prime minister's conduct in the
affair.

More people said Netanyahu's behavior was irresponsible than said he acted
responsibly. The public seems to be treating Netanyahu harshly; after all,
he didn't plan the badly timed announcement and he did apologize several
times. So why is he seen as irresponsible nonetheless?

Perhaps the words "Netanyahu" and "conduct" are a disastrous combination for
a prime minister who lost power a decade ago because of improper behavior.

His performance in the first year of his current term is not especially
encouraging. As soon as people hear those two words in the same sentence,
they give Netanyahu an F. No matter that he didn't rant and rave, that he
made an effort to soothe the Americans.

The prime minister's aides waited tensely for the weekend newspaper surveys.
They believed the public's heart would be with their man, whom they see as
the underdog who was scolded though he did no wrong.

The public has not turned its back on Netanyahu, but it hasn't applauded his
performance either. Perhaps average Israelis cannot, and do not want to,
imagine themselves living in a far worse reality than this - without the
warmth and light of an American alliance.