The Pew Center Poll: American Support For Israel

A stabbing attack took place at the Tapuach Junction. Two Palestinian terrorists armed with knives attempted to stab soldiers; one was subdued, the other was shot in the legs. No Israelis were wounded.

The scene at the Tapuach Junction today. Note the terrorist in the foreground on the sidewalk holding up his hands. Also note the knife between his legs and that he has been shot in the legs. In the background is the other terrorist sitting on the road.

Palestinian terrorists attacked with “rocks” and Molotovs at Madma, Jabel Johar in Hevron, Yitzhar, Al Aruv, Beit Sira, Al Fawwar, Anata, Beitar, Mt. Hevron, Naama, Al Mu’ayyir, Deir Nizam, Beitin, Ni’lin, Abud, Jenin, Beit El, Shechem, Azzun, Burqa, Ma’aleh Levona, Binyamin,  the Horseshoe Junction, Beit Ummar, Talmonim, Horseshoe Junction, the Mount of Olives, Luban al Sharqiya, Qalqilya, Psagot, Kochav HaShahar, and Kfar Dahiya among other places.

Further Reflections on the Visit of Vice President Pence . . .

As you saw from the picture at the top of israelstreet today, Vice President Pence was up early this morning, praying at the Kotel at 5 am so as not to disrupt other worshipers.

His speech yesterday which your humble servant described as “warm but with elements of delusion” deserves further comment. Here are two significant snippets from his speech.

First:  

“The Jewish people held fast to a promise through all the ages, written so long ago, that ‘even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens,’ from there He would gather and bring you back to the land which your fathers possessed . . .Through a 2,000-year exile, the longest of any people, anywhere, through conquests and expulsions, inquisitions and pogroms, the Jewish people held on to this promise, and they held onto it through the longest and darkest of nights.”

So much for revisionist Palestinian history which claims that there is no Jewish history in Israel. 

Second:

“Israel is like a tree that has grown deep roots in the soil of your forefathers, yet as it grows, it reaches ever closer to the heavens. And today and every day, the Jewish state of Israel, and all the Jewish people, bear witness to God’s faithfulness, as well as your own.”

The Jewish state of Israel says it all–and proclaims once and for all why there will never be peace with the Palestinians. 

TODAY’S BLOG:

The Pew Center Poll: American Support For Israel 

Much is being made today about the most recent poll which tracks the support of Republicans and Democrats for Israel.

Here is the graph produced by Pew:

The graph is self explanatory. In terms of the first question “who do you sympathize with?”, note that this graph supposedly is non-partisan. What is remarkable is that the 46% support for Israel in 2018 is virtually unchanged since the 45% when the question was first asked in 1978.  Similarly, support for the Palestinians is remarkably unchanged (14% in 1978, 16% in 2018).

It is important to note that the number remains below 50% simply because even though the poll is “non-partisan”, more Democrats are questioned in the poll than any other political group (more Democrats are always questioned in every poll simply because there are far more registered Democrats–43,140,758–than Republicans–30,700,138–in the United States). The importance of more registered Democrats is illustrated by the second question.

What is dramatic in the second question concerns the division between Republican and Democrat sympathy for Israel. Here we see that 79% of Republicans support Israel, 42% of Independents, and 27% of Democrats. While Independent support for Israel has remained virtually unchanged since 1978, Republican support has dramatically increased while Democratic support has dramatically decreased. 

Of course, given the Obama Administration’s animus against Israel for eight long years, the Democrat dive is completely understandable. Will it bounce back? Your humble servant unfortunately doubts that Democrat support for Israel will increase any time soon because an entire younger generation of Democrats has aligned itself with forces that malign Israel at every turn.