Most Jewish Israelis do not trust Obama on Iran

Most Jewish Israelis do not trust Obama on Iran. (TOI).

Most Jewish Israelis do not trust Obama to keep his promise to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons “at any cost,” according to a study released Thursday. 

Of the Jewish Israelis surveyed in the latest Israel Democracy Institute Peace Index, 67 percent said they did not believe the president would keep his word, while 27% said they thought he would. Among Arab Israelis, 42% believed Obama would prevent a nuclear Iran, while 38% did not.

The majority of all Israelis think the US is projecting weakness on Middle East issues, as 63% said they thought US actions in regards to Syria projected weakness and 60% said the same regarding Iran.

Israeli officials have largely dismissed the idea of negotiating with Iran, insisting that the only acceptable solution to the standoff is for Iran to dismantle its program. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned this week against a “bad deal.”

Jewish Israelis seem to share Netanyahu’s wariness, as 80% believed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s late-September speech before the UN General Assembly did not signal a change in policy but rather merely a change in rhetoric. Only 14% believed it was sincere. Meanwhile, 47% of Arab Israelis believed it marked a real change in Tehran’s policy, and 42% thought it was only rhetoric.

When it comes to Iran, Netanyahu enjoys widespread support among Jewish Israelis. Fully 77% said they thought Netanyahu was right to repeatedly warn the world of the danger Iran poses, while just 14% think Western leaders are right to meet with the Iranian president. Among Israeli Arabs, 56% agree with Western diplomatic steps and 20% support Netanyahu’s more skeptical line.Hmmmm.....It is true after all,  Jews are smarter.