Israelis Support Obama over Bibi

Juan Cole 05/26/2011

More evidence that Israel derangement syndrome is a malady among the American political class and a narrow sliver of the AIPAC elite, but that most Israelis and most American Jews are far more pragmatic and humane.

57 % of Israelis support Barack Obama’s speech on Middle East peace, and are critical of that of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. (Netanyahu remains popular, just not his hard line stance against peace).

For a canny explanation of the real background of Netanyahu’s attack on Obama, see also Ira Chernus in Tomdispatch. Ira’s Yiddish phrase,”Tuches aufn tish,” is worth the price of admission.

See also The Jewish Voice for Peace’s refutation of Netanyahu.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page