WarSclerotic

A majority of Israelis support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy against Iran, according to a Geocartography Knowledge Group poll released Thursday.

The survey was conducted following Netanyahu’s press conference on Monday, when he presented secret documents proving that Iran pursued a military nuclear program, and ahead of the coming 18th Herzliya Conference, scheduled to take place May 8-10 at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. It questioned 500 Jewish respondents ages 18 and up and has a margin of error of 4.38%.

The survey shows that 58% of respondents support the prime minister’s policies on Iran, 15.5% oppose his policies, and 26.5% have no opinion.

It also finds that 60% of respondents believe the United States would come to Israel’s political and military aid in case of a confrontation with Iran.

Some 26.3% of respondents say they are “absolutely sure” the U.S. would help Israel, 34.3% say the U.S. would “probably” help Israel, 19% say it would only back Israel politically, 13.5% are “not sure” the U.S. would help Israel, 0.9% say the U.S. would not help Israel in any way, and 6% have no opinion.

On the question of whether Israel should strike Iran, 44.2% are in a favor of a strike designed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, 31.1% oppose a strike and 24.7% have no opinion.

Further analysis shows that more men than women are in favor of an Israeli strike on Iran.

Asked whether Israel is better prepared for a war today than in the past, 28.9% said the country’s war readiness has not changed much through the years, 28% said Israel is “somewhat better” prepared, 22.4% said Israel is far better prepared, 8.4% said it is somewhat less prepared, 4.9% said the country is grossly underprepared, and 7.4% had no opinion.

Touching on the controversial law passed this week that gives the prime minister the authority to declare war after consulting with the defense minister alone and not with the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet as previously required, 42.8% of respondents said they support the move, 37.6% oppose it and 19.6% have no opinion.

Asked whether they believe American Jewry’s support for Israel is increasing or decreasing, 35.8% said there has been no change, 34.1% said Israel is steadily losing that support, 15.2% said U.S. Jewry’s support for Israel is increasing, and 14.9% had no opinion.