The data reported here are from the 2009 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee. Among the topics covered in the present survey are U.S.-Israel relations, the Arab-Israel conflict, and the Iran nuclear threat. Many of the questions appearing in the survey are new; others are drawn from previous American Jewish Committee surveys, including various Annual Surveys of American Jewish Opinion carried out between 1979 and 2008.
The 2009 survey was conducted for the American Jewish Committee by Synovate (formerly Market Facts), a leading research organization. Respondents were interviewed by telephone between August 30 – September 17, 2009; no interviews took place on the Sabbath. The sample consisted of 800 self-identifying Jewish respondents selected from the Synovate consumer mail panel. The respondents are representative of the United States adult Jewish population on a variety of measures.The margin of error for the sample as a whole is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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A. US-Israel Relations
1. How would you characterize relations between Israel and the United States today? Are they very positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, or very negative?
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Very positive
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11
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Somewhat positive
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70
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Somewhat negative
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14
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Very negative
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2
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| Not sure |
3
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2. Do you approve or disapprove of the Obama Administration’s handling of US-Israel relations?
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3. Do you approve or disapprove of the Netanyahu government’s handling of Israel-US relations?
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4. Do you agree or disagree with the Obama Administration’s call for a stop to all new Israeli settlement construction?
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B. Arab-Israel Conflict
| 5. As compared with one year ago, are you more optimistic about the
chance for a lasting peace between Israel and the Arabs, less
optimistic, or do you think the chance for a lasting peace is about the
same as it was one year ago?
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| More optimistic |
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12
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| Less optimistic
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23
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| Same as one year ago |
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65
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| Not sure |
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1
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6. In the current situation, do you favor or oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state?
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Favor
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49
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Oppose
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41
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| Not sure |
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1
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7. In the framework of a permanent peace with the Palestinians, should Israel be willing to compromise on the status of Jerusalem as a united city under Israeli jurisdiction?
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Yes
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37
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No
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58
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Not Sure
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6
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8. As part of a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, should Israel be willing to dismantle all, some, or none of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank?
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9. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “The goal of the Arabs is not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel.”
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Agree
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75
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Disagree
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19
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Not Sure
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5
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10. Do you think there will or will not come a time when Israel and its Arab neighbors will be able to settle their differences and live in peace?
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Will
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43
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Will not
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51
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Not Sure
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6
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11. Do you think that Israel can or cannot achieve peace with a Hamas-led Palestinian government?
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Can
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17
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Cannot
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79
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Not Sure
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4
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12. Should the Palestinians be required or not be required to recognize Israel as a Jewish state in a final peace agreement?
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Required
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94
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Not required
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5
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Not Sure
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2
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C. International Issues
13. Do you approve or disapprove of the Obama Administration’s handling of the Iran nuclear issue? |
Approve
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49
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Disapprove
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35
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Not sure
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15
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14. Would you support or oppose the United States taking military action against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons?
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15. Would you support or oppose Israel taking military action against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons?
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16. Do you think that anti-Semitism around the world is currently a very serious problem, somewhat of a problem, or not a problem at all? |
Very Serious problem
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56
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Somewhat of a problem
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43
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Not a problem at all
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1
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Not sure
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1
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17. Looking ahead over the next several years, do you think that anti-Semitism around the world will increase greatly, increase somewhat, remain the same, decrease somewhat, or decrease greatly? |
Increase greatly
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15
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Increase somewhat
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30
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Remain the same
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42
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Decrease somewhat
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9
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Decrease greatly
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1
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Not sure
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2
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D. Background Factors
18. In politics as of today, do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent? |
Republican
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16
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Democrat
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53
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Independent
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30
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| Not sure |
1
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19. Do you think of yourself as . . .
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Orthodox
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9
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Conservative
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24
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| Reconstructionist
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2
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Reform
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27
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Just Jewish
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36
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Not sure
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1
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20. How important would you say being Jewish is in your own life? |
Very important
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51
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Fairly important
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33
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Not very important
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15
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Not sure
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1
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21. How close do you feel to Israel? |
Very close
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28
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Fairly close
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41
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Fairly distant
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22
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Very distant
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8
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| Not sure
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1
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