Trends in American attitudes toward Israel

This chapter deals with public opinion polls on a specific foreign issue— Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict. It presents a critical analysis of polls that have measured American attitudes towards Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict from the end of World War II and the establishment of Israel until 1984. While an overwhelming majority of the American people supported Jewish immigration to Palestine and the creation of Israel, only a minority supported active US participation in the implementation of the goals. The Six Day War marked a watershed both in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the history of poll-taking on American attitudes towards this conflict. The "underdog" image of Israel during the pre-war crisis was the second reason behind the pro-Israeli shift in American sympathies. A number of changes in American attitudes towards the Arab-Israeli conflict were also found in a series of specific questions about the Israeli-Egyptian negotiations.