'Post' poll: Only 11 percent say Obama can stop Iranian threat

When asked whether Iran’s nuclear program could be stopped with diplomacy, 53% said no, 27% said yes and 20% said they did not know.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
Obama and Khamenei (photo credit: REUTERS)
Obama and Khamenei
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Israeli public doubts the ability of US president Barack Obama to reach a deal with Iran that can remove the Iranian nuclear threat from Israel, according to a Panels Research poll taken Wednesday and Thursday for The Jerusalem Post and its Hebrew sister publication Ma’ariv Sof Hashavua.
Just 11 percent believe Obama can reach such a deal, 64% said he cannot and 25% said they do not know.
When asked whether Iran’s nuclear program could be stopped with diplomacy, 53% said no, 27% said yes and 20% said they did not know.
Asked if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial speech to Congress Tuesday night would impact the negotiations between Iran and the leading nations of the world, 45% said no, 34% yes and 21% did not know.
A majority, 51%, said the speech did not harm relations with the US, while 37% said it did. Twelve percent said they did not know.
Respondents were evenly split at 46% about whether the prime minister used the speech for political reasons ahead of the March 17 election.
Asked if the speech made it more likely they would vote Likud, 21% said yes, 10% said it lowered chances they would cast a ballot for the party, 67% said it had no impact, and 2% did not know. The percentage of those saying the speech would make it more likely they would back Likud was higher among respondents who self-identified as right-wing.
The poll of 650 respondents representing a statistical sample of the Israeli population has a margin of error of +-3.9%.