WASHINGTON – Americans increasingly back the US aiding Israel militarily should
it come under attack from Iran after a strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities,
according to a new poll by The Israel Project.
The survey, released on
Wednesday, also shows American voters opposing unilateral UN recognition of a
Palestinian state and continuing aid to the Egyptian government if it doesn’t
honor its peace treaty with Israel.
The poll found that 71 percent of
those surveyed this month said the US should come to Israel’s defense if, after
an Israeli attack to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Tehran fires
on Israel.
That number is significantly higher than the 61% who answered
the same way in a 2011 TIP poll.
In contrast, 22% of those surveyed in
November oppose such intervention, down from 33% last year.
In addition,
when asked what the US should do about “a UN resolution recognizing a
Palestinian state without an agreement between the parties,” 57% said they
thought the American government should oppose the move; 27% said the US should
support such a resolution; and 16% said they don’t know.
When it came to
the new Egyptian government, 59% of interviewees agreed with the statement that
“the United States should cut back its foreign aid to Egypt if we think it is
not keeping its treaty obligations to Israel,” of whom 44% felt strongly that
that should be done.
Additionally, 35% agreed strongly that the US should
reduce aid to Egypt “if we think it is limiting rights of democratic opposition
and fails to protect religious freedoms.”
The survey was conducted by
phone of 793 registered US voters, starting after they cast their ballots in
November 6’s presidential election and continuing through November 8.
The
margin of error was +/- 3.5%.