From CNN:
Israeli voters — especially on the right — have been skeptical that Obama has their best interests at heart. This point was underscored in a recent poll that asked Israelis recently if they believed President Obama would agree to a deal that Israeli officials considered harmful to Israel’s security. Of those that responded, 61% said yes, he would do so. However, 95% of Labor supporters said no, Obama would do no such thing, while 93% of Likud voters said they believed Obama would disregard Israel’s security.
A majority of Israelis still support the creation of two states, one for Israelis and another for Palestinians. And despite the last-minute statements from Netanyahu dismissing the idea, it is important to remember that polls have consistently shown Israelis continue to support the establishment of a Palestinian state, as long as Israel’s security can be assured.The trouble is that right now, many Israelis don’t believe they can preserve their security with a Palestinian state just a few miles from their major cities, not least because previous territorial withdrawals — from Gaza and from southern Lebanon — have simply created launch pads for attacks against Israel. So when rightist leaders such as Netanyahu say Israelis will not be safe with a Palestinian state, voters are inclined to believe them.
The CNN author, very unpersuasively, writes that Obama “has done a dismal job of persuading Israelis that he has their back…. And his handling of the recent spat with Netanyahu only added to the problem. By appearing to dismiss Netanyahu’s warning of a ‘nuclear nightmare’ over the Iran talks by arguing that the prime minister was offering no ‘viable alternatives,’ Obama missed an opportunity to reassure security conscious Israelis that the United States will safeguard their survival.”
