Obama: What Jewish Problem?
The following news story was distributed by the Democratic National Committee today without comment. The story is by the JTA, a global news service covering items of interest to the world’s Jewish communities.
JTA // Ron Kampeas
Published at July 5, 2011
President Obama’s status among American Jews remains unaffected despite recent tensions with Israel’s government, according to a Gallup Poll.
Obama’s approval rating among U.S. Jews was 60 percent in June, the polling company said, consistent both with earlier months.
Also, Jews still consistently approved of the president’s performance at an average of 14 percentage points above the general public, Gallup said in its release Tuesday. Obama’s overall approval rating in June was 46 percent.
Approval of Obama’s performance among Jews had spiked in May at 68 percent and overall at 50 percent in the wake of the killing of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, but settled in June.
There was no statistically significant change in the wake of Obama’s May 19 Middle East policy speech in which he called for talks with the Palestinians to resume based on 1967 lines with land swaps, Gallup said.
“Sixty-five percent approved of him for the April 1-May 18 time period, and 62 percent approved from May 19-June 30,” it said.
The speech had earned Obama an angry rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Gallup tracks approval of the president in daily telephone interviews.
Approval rates among Jews tend to vary to a greater degree because of the relatively small sample size of about 350 with a margin of error of 7 percentage points, as opposed to 2 points for the 21,000 interviews among the wider population.
July 5th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
During the democratic primary against Hillary Clinton many Jews were saying they wouldn’t vote for the schvartze. Jews should never say such things. It is dangerous talk. By election day they had come to their senses on that issue.
Obama showed a lot of class in the way he handled the Bin Ladin event. Other presidents might have have made a much bigger deal. This president responded by not spiking the football and in that way putting his political interests second to the safety of the nation and keeping lines of communication with Islamic nations open. Yet he remained plenty outspoken when it came to denouncing tyranies in Egypt or Libia. I am impressed by that.
His handling of the Middle East has not gotten the credit it deserves. Things are happening out there for a change. Countries are moving away from their fiefdoms and hopefully toward democracies. For sure, the stalemate is broken and things are in movement. Give credit where it is due.
July 6th, 2011 at 8:52 am
When I attend the BREC meetings, I hear them predict that Broward Jews will abandon Obama because of his stand on Israel. I always doubted this and the poll proves I was right. The GOP has to win votes — Jewish and otherwise — on the economy. Nothing else matters.
July 6th, 2011 at 10:02 am
If I were the Democrats I would NOT worry about the PERCENTAGE of Jewish votes he’s going to get….. I’d worry about TURNOUT.
July 6th, 2011 at 11:32 am
This happens every election that I have voted for. The National GOP releases some poll right after something happens which involves Israel and a Dem candidate. Results of poll are then used as talking points about how Jews will abandon the Dem Party and vote for the GOP.
As you get closer to election day, Jewish voters look at what the GOP wants to do to every single thing that they fought hard to accomplish in education, civil rights, minimum wages, gays and women, public health, libraries, parks etc and say “WTF was I thinkin ” before pulling lever for Dem Candidate.
After election, cheap AM radio sound biters like Brian Craig complain about why Jews voted against their interests in Israel.
Jewish interests seem to go a bit beyond being part of far right Christian dreams of Israel being destroyed and second coming of Jesus.