Hopefully, it shouldn't come as a surprise that most Americans view the nation of Israel in an exceedingly favorable light. As the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel shares with the United States, among other things, a commitment to freedom, tolerance, free elections, and human rights. And while the leaders of both nations have fundamental disagreements on crucially important national security issues and the timing of diplomatic visits, the frosty friendship is not affecting American/Israeli relations. Indeed, a new Gallup poll finds that 70 percent of Americans give Israel "very" or "mostly" favorable marks:
Again, this is not unexpected, but is it not reassuring? Given the fact that “anti-Semitism has returned to Europe,” according to Dr. Charles Krauthammer -- if it hadn't already -- it’s encouraging to know that most Americans stand firmly behind one of our closest Middle Eastern allies. At the same time, Americans' “sympathies” overwhelming lie with the Jewish people.
As the pollsters point out, it seems that the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas, which was enlightening in so many different ways last summer, has not negatively affected public perceptions of the world's only Jewish state, especially given the slanted and questionable way in which it was covered by some American media outlets.
