The Week’s News in Review

April 29: Lawmakers are urging the Bush administration to toughen its stance against Syria. A Palestinian police chief survived a bomb attack attributed to Gaza vigilantes. The U.S. State Department updated its travel warning for Israel and the Palestinian territories. President Bush met with the Swedish prime minister and discussed Europe's role in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace. An adviser to Ariel Sharon said the Israeli prime minister should consider holding a nationwide referendum on his disengagement plan. Israeli forces captured a Palestinian fugitive recently ejected from Yasser Arafat's headquarters. April 30: Al Qaida would target Israeli cities if it had chemical weapons, according to a recording believed to be from the terrorist group. The Palestinians have failed to meet their obligations to curb terrorism, Kofi Annan said. Palestinians need to reform if they want to counter Israeli encroachment in the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas said. Some West Bank settlers want to start negotiating compensation for evacuation. May 3: Ariel Sharon said he would not resign after his Likud Party rejected his plan for unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, with U.S. & Israeli officials saying they would move forward with a plan for Israeli withdrawal . The United States wants Arab governments to respond to anti-Semitism in Arab media. Australia listed Islamic Jihad as a terrorist group. The diplomatic 'Quartet' is scheduled to meet to discuss Israel's plans for a Gaza withdrawal. May 4: Ariel Sharon reportedly is considering a revised plan to evacuate only three Jewish settlements in Gaza. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) reiterated a pledge to introduce a congressional resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Reservoirs of oil potentially worth some $6 billion reportedly were discovered in central Israel.

U.S. Public Opinion Towards Israel

American public support for Israel has consistently exceeded that of the Arabs and Palestinians by huge margins, and the overall trend over the years has been in Israel’s favor. In June 1967, 56% of Americans supported Israel, compared to only 4% who said they sympathized with the Arabs. Despite all that has transpired in the last 37 years, the latest Gallup poll, taken in February 2004, found that 55% of Americans still sympathize with Israel. Support for the Palestinians reached a record high in this poll, but is still only 18%. Overall, support for Israel has been on the upswing since 1967. In the 1970s, the average level of support for Israel was 42%, in the 1980s, it was 46%, and, in the 1990s, 50%, including a record high of 64 percent at the time of the Gulf War in January 1991. So far, in the new millennium, support for Israel is averaging 48%. Meanwhile, even with the latest record high, support for the Arabs/Palestinians has actually declined in the last two decades from an anemic average just below 15% in the 1980s to less than 14% since 2000. On average, Israel is favored by nearly four to one. The percentage of Americans with a favorable opinion of Israel has averaged 62% over the past eight years, compared with only 17% for the Palestinian Authority. Three-quarters of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the PA, which ranks second from the bottom of a list of 22 countries measured by Gallup. Polls also indicate the public views Israel as a reliable U.S. ally, a feeling that grew stronger during the first Gulf crisis. When Fox News asked in February 2003 which nations are friends of the United States, 70% answered Israel, which placed the Jewish State second only to Great Britain, and far ahead of France and Germany. Source: Jewish Virtual Library online.

Advocacy for Israel Committee Information

The Advocacy for Israel Committee was formed in September of 2001 to organize pro-Israeli activities and to rally support in the form of Hasbara. The next A Team meeting is Sunday May 16 in the CBI Library at 9:45. Make a difference for Israel! Contact A Team Chairmen Jay Epstein (jhe@tampabay.rr.com) or Sheldon Scheinert (Sheldo123@aol.com). Get involved!

Speaking out for Israel so that "Never Again" shall Jewish silence lead to an indifferent world