2010 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion

The data reported here are taken from the 2010 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion, sponsored by AJC. Among the topics covered in this survey are U.S.-Israeli relations, the Arab-Israel conflict, and the Iranian nuclear threat. Some of the questions appearing in the survey are new; others are drawn from previous AJC surveys, including the various Annual Surveys of American Jewish Opinion carried out between 1979 and 2009.

The 2010 survey was conducted for AJC by Synovate (formerly Market Facts), a leading research organization. Respondents were interviewed by telephone between March 2 - March 23, 2010; 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.
A. Obama Administration
1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?



2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling each of the following?

Approve
  Disapprove
  Not sure
A. The economy
 55
42
3
B. Health care
 50
48
3
C. Homeland security
 62
33
5

B. U.S.-Israel Relations
3. How would you characterize relations between Israel and the United States today? Are they very positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, or very negative?
Very positive
 10
Somewhat positive
 63
Somewhat negative  
22
Very negative
4
Not sure
1



4. Do you approve or disapprove of the Obama Administration's handling of U.S.-Israel relations?



5. Do you approve or disapprove of the Netanyahu government's handling of Israel-U.S. relations?

C. Arab-Israel Conflict
6. 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?
 More optimistic  6
 Less optimistic  22
 Same as one year ago  72
 Not sure  1


7. In the current situation, do you favor or oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state?


8. 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?
 Yes  35
 No  61
 Not Sure           
 4

9. 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?
All
  8
Some
  56
None
  34
Not sure             2

10. 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.”
Agree
 75
Disagree
 20
Not Sure            5

11. Do you think that Israel can or cannot achieve peace with a Hamas-led Palestinian government?
Can
 16
Cannot
 80
Not Sure            4

12. Should the Palestinians be required or not be required to recognize Israel as a Jewish state in a final peace agreement?
Required
 94
Not required
 3
Not sure            1

D. International Issues
13. Do you approve or disapprove of the Obama Administration’s handling of the Iran nuclear issue?



14. How much of a chance do you think there is that a combination of diplomacy and sanctions can stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons?  Is there a good chance, some chance, little chance, or no chance?
Good chance   
5
Some chance          
27
Little chance   
45
No chance   
23
Not sure
1

15. Would you support or oppose the United States taking military action against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons?
Support            
53
Oppose
 42
Not sure
4

16. Would you support or oppose Israel taking military action against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons?
Support 62
Oppose 33
Not sure 5

17. Barack Obama has approved the deployment of an additional 30,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Do you agree or disagree with this decision?
Agree 62
Disagree 35
Not Sure 4

18. I would like you to rate your feelings towards some countries, with one hundred meaning a very warm, favorable feeling, zero meaning a very cold, unfavorable feeling, and fifty meaning not particularly warm or cold. You can use any number from zero to one hundred. How would you rate your feelings toward . . .
 Mean Score
a. Russia 54
b. India 64
c. Venezuela 42
d. Jordan 47
e. Turkey 52
f. China 49
g. Egypt 49
h. United States 88
i. Saudi Arabia 34
j. Germany 57

E. Anti-Semitism
19. Do you think anti-Semitism in the United States is currently a very serious problem, somewhat of a problem, or not a problem at all?
Very serious problem 25
Somewhat of a problem 66
Not a problem at all 9
Not sure 0

20. Do you think anti-Semitism in Europe is currently a very serious problem, somewhat of a problem, or not a problem at all?
Very serious problem 51
Somewhat of a problem 44
Not a problem at all 3
Not sure 2

21. Do you think anti-Semitism in the Muslim world is currently a very serious problem, somewhat of a problem, or not a problem at all?
Very serious problem 87
Somewhat of a problem 11
Not a problem at all 1
Not Sure 1

22. 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 14
Increase somewhat 36
Remain the same 41
Decrease somewhat 7
Decrease greatly 1

F. Background Factors
23. In politics as of today, do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent?
Republican 15
Democrat 50
Independent
32
Not sure 2

24. Do you think of yourself as . . .
Orthodox 10
Conservative 24
Reconstructionist 2
Reform 26
Just Jewish 37
Not sure 1

25. How important would you say being Jewish is in your own life?
Very important 51
Fairly important 34
Not very important
15
Not sure 0

26. How close do you feel to Israel?
Very close 30
Fairly close 44
Fairly distant 
20
Very distant 5
Not sure 0