Devil in the details
A recent survey on the attitudes of Arab and Jewish communities in the United States towards America's Middle East policy revealed that they both continue to support a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel. Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington
A recent survey conducted by the Arab- American Institute (AAI) and Americans for Peace Now (APN) showed that a large majority of both Arab-Americans and Jewish-Americans continue to support the setting up of two secure and independent states for Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. Yet, the same poll also revealed that there remains a high level of mistrust among both communities as to their actual intentions, and whether they truly support a two-state solution.
According to the poll, 95.4 per cent of Arab- Americans said they agreed that Israelis have a right to live in a secure and independent state, while 85.5 per cent of Jewish-Americans said Palestinians have the same right. However, only 33.8 per cent of Jewish-Americans felt that Arab-Americans truly believed in Israel's right to a secure state. On the Arab side, there seemed to be a higher level of trust, with 50.4 per cent of the view that the majority of Jewish-Americans believed Palestinians have the right to live in their own state.
The poll, conducted in late October, also indicated that Arab-Americans were unhappy with US President George Bush's handling of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Nearly 31 per cent of Jewish-Americans rated his performance as "poor", with 37.7 per cent saying it was "fair". Among Arab-Americans, however, 46.4 per cent said his performance was "poor" and 22.3 per cent said it was "fair". 65.3 per cent of Arab-Americans believed that Bush's administration was biased in favour of Israel.
In a joint news conference held last week to announce the results of the survey, AAI president, James Zogby, and APN president, Debra DeLee, both sought to highlight the significance of the fact that the vast majority of both communities support a two-state solution.
"The results of this collaborative effort are significant," said Zogby. "Despite heightened tensions and the terrible toll of the continuing conflict, solid majorities of Arab-Americans and American-Jews remain committed to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians," he added.
DeLee echoed a similar view, saying that "the AAI/APN joint survey reveals that our communities are much more moderate on Middle-East-related issues than people are often led to believe." She added, "in fact, this study provides encouraging information about the potential for both communities to work together in the pursuit of common interests in the region."
The communities were also asked if they would support a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians that included the establishment of an independent, secure Palestinian state alongside an independent, secure Israeli state. This would include the evacuation of most settlements from the West Bank and Gaza, the establishment of a border roughly along the lines of that of June 1967, Palestinian right of return to the newly created Palestinian state, and the establishment of Jerusalem as the shared capital of both countries. Among Jewish-Americans, 51.7 per cent supported and 30.3 per cent were against such a plan, while 78.9 per cent of Arab-Americans supported it.
The communities also agreed about whom they generally blamed for the breakdown of the Middle East peace process, with 42.1 per cent of Jewish-Americans and 49.6 per cent of Arab-Americans blaming both sides.
However, the two communities differed in the degree of their optimism for Middle Eastern peace. Among Arab-Americans, 58.9 per cent said they were pessimistic, with 33.8 per cent expressing optimism. A larger majority of Jewish-Americans, 74.3 per cent, expressed pessimism, while 17.2 per cent said they were optimistic.
Zogby sought to downplay this disagreement between the two communities, although in reality it remains one of the main reasons behind the failure of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians over the past nine years. "We conducted a similar survey two years ago, and the results were close to what we got today. That is definitely significant, even if disagreements remain over the details of the peace plan," he said.
Zogby also stressed that, "both communities are troubled by current US policy and want to see a more aggressive and balanced push for peace."
DeLee backed Zogby's view. "Our poll sends a message to decision-makers in Washington that Arab-Americans and Jewish-Americans want to see the US follow policies that will encourage the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, rather than detract from it," she told reporters.
In a separate set of questions directed at Jewish-American respondents only, 71.8 per cent said they believed the best way for Israel to respond to ongoing violence was a combination of political negotiations and force, while 17.6 per cent said that political negotiations alone constituted the best response. Interestingly, 8.3 per cent of Jewish-Americans said violence alone should be used to deal with the present situation.
