Joint Survey of Arab American & Jewish American Opinion

Released by the Arab American Institute (AAI) & Americans for Peace Now
Nov. 21, 2002

Engagement in Middle East Issue:

Among Arab Americans, 58.9% said they are pessimistic and 33.8% expressed optimism. A larger majority of Jewish Americans (74.3%) expressed pessimism, while a smaller minority (17.2%) said they were optimistic.

The U.S. and the Middle East:

Neither community gives President George W. Bush high ratings for his handling of the Arab/Israeli conflict in the Middle East. Among Arab Americans, 46.4% gave him a poor rating and 22.3% gave him a fair rating. Among Jewish Americans, 31.3% gave him a poor rating and 37.7% ranked him as fair.

Thinking about Middle East Peace Process Issues:

When asked if they agree or disagree that Palestinians have a right to live in a secure and independent state of their own, 85.5% of Jewish Americans said they agreed, as did 95.6% of Arab Americans. Similarly, 96.6% of Jewish Americans agreed that Israelis have a right to live in a secure and independent state of their own, and 95.4% of Arab Americans agreed with them. When asked if they agreed or disagreed that Israelis and Palestinians each have the right to live in secure and independent states of their own, 86.9% of Jewish Americans and 96.8% of Arab Americans agreed. The communities also agreed about whom they generally blame for the breakdown of the Middle East peace process, with 42.1% of Jewish Americans and 49.6% of Arab Americans blaming both sides. There were differences, however, about the second most preferred answer from each community, with 41.3% of American Jews blaming Palestinians and 31.2% of Arab Americans saying Israelis.

Misperception about Arab American and Jewish American Communities:

Both communities have misperceptions about the level of support that exists on the other side for secure, independent Palestinian and Israeli states. While 50.4% of Arab Americans agreed that a majority of Jewish Americans think that Palestinians have a right to live in a secure and independent state of their own, the actual level of Jewish American support for this position is 85.5%. At the same time, only 33.8% of Jewish Americans agree and 40.7% disagree that a majority of Arab Americans think that Israelis have a right to live in a secure and independent state of their own, even though 95.4% of Arab Americans hold this view.

Additional Jewish American Views on Final Status Issues:

• 71.8% of Jewish Americans said that the best way for Israel to respond to ongoing violent attacks by Palestinians is with a combination of political negotiations and force, while another 17.6% said that just political negotiations was the best response. Only 8.3% said that force alone should be used.
  
• When asked if they agree or disagree that some Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza should be evacuated in the context of a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, 67.5% expressed agreement.
  
• When asked if such evacuations should take place to improve Israeli security even without a peace accord, a majority of American Jews (53.3%) supported removing settlements and just 31.9% disagreed with evacuation under those circumstances.
  
• Finally, 73.5% of American Jews said they would support U.S. participation in a large international financial aid plan to rebuild the Israeli and Palestinian economies.

(Americans for Peace Now, 11/21/02)