American Public Opinion Toward Israel And The Arab Israeli Conflict

This book examines trends in American public opinion about Israel in over 75 years, from 1944 to 2019. Analyzing data from hundreds of surveys in jargon-free writing, the authors show that public support for Israel has seen a dramatic shift toward increased division between partisan and select demographic groups, elaborating on the implications that this important change may have for the countries’ special relationship. Scholars and students of American foreign policy, public opinion, Middle East politics and international relations, as well as policy analysts, policymakers, journalists and anyone interested in American policy toward Israel, will want to read this book. Special Features An Online Appendix including all surveys used throughout the book. A Roper Center-approved Data Tool that allows readers to create their own figures based on data used in the book: https://www.idc.ac.il/en/schools/government/research/apoi/pages/data-tool.aspx

Public Opinion and the Palestine Question (1987) analyses public opinion on the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. It studies attitudes in various Western democratic countries and Israel, and examines whether the governments of those countries reflect the general positions on the issue of their people. It shows important changes taking place in the orientations of Western public opinion on the Palestinian question.

For most of the twentieth century, considered opinion in the United States regarding Palestine has favored the inherent right of Jews to exist in the Holy Land. That Palestinians, as a native population, could claim the same right has been largely ignored. Kathleen Christison's controversial new book shows how the endurance of such assumptions, along with America's singular focus on Israel and general ignorance of the Palestinian point of view, has impeded a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Christison begins with the derogatory images of Arabs purveyed by Western travelers to the Middle East in the nineteenth century, including Mark Twain, who wrote that Palestine's inhabitants were "abject beggars by nature, instinct, and education." She demonstrates other elements that have influenced U.S. policymakers: American religious attitudes toward the Holy Land that legitimize the Jewish presence; sympathy for Jews derived from the Holocaust; a sense of cultural identity wherein Israelis are "like us" and Arabs distant aliens. She makes a forceful case that decades of negative portrayals of Palestinians have distorted U.S. policy, making it virtually impossible to promote resolutions based on equality and reciprocity between Palestinians and Israelis. Christison also challenges prevalent media images and emphasizes the importance of terminology: Two examples are the designation of who is a "terrorist" and the imposition of place names (which can pass judgment on ownership). Christison's thoughtful book raises a final disturbing question: If a broader frame of reference on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had been employed, allowing a less warped public discourse, might not years of warfare have been avoided and steps toward peace achieved much earlier?

This book surveys discourse and opinion in the United States toward the Arab-Israeli conflict since 1991. Contrary to popular myth, it demonstrates that U.S. support for Israel is not based on the pro-Israel lobby, but rather is deeply rooted in American political culture. That support has increased since 9/11. However, the bulk of this increase has been among Republicans, conservatives, evangelicals, and Orthodox Jews. Meanwhile, among Democrats, liberals, the Mainline Protestant Church, and non-Orthodox Jews, criticism of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians has become more vociferous. This book works to explain this paradox.

Thoughtful and innovative in its approach, this textbook provides a balanced overview of one of the most protracted and bitter struggles of modern times: the Arab-Israeli conflict. It sets out to relay basic information on the evolution of the conflict and explore the efforts to resolve it, and then goes on to portray the differing perspectives of each of the important parties. Written by a distinguished team of leading scholars, the book outlines key developments in the history of the conflict without imposing propagandistic ideas. It places the events of the conflict within a regional and international context, making it an invaluable insight into the opposing narratives that have fuelled the conflict for so long. This is essential reading for students, academics and policy-makers wishing to understand the history and politics of the Arab-Israeli conflict and its pivotal role in the Middle East, and will be sure to enlighten those who are new to what is considered to be a highly contentious subject, as well as encourage critical thinking and discussion.