The Bible's Role in American Support for Israel

It's intuitive that Bible-believers stand with Israel more than others, but until now that's been (so far as I know) an anecdotal impression. Thanks to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, we now have some poll statistics.

The survey (of a nationwide sample of 2,003 adults, 18 years of age or older, taken July 6-19, 2006) found that the U.S. population as a whole sympathizes more with Israel than the Palestinians by 44 percent to 9 percent, a figure in line with many other polls on the subject. Americans who believe that "Israel was given by God to the Jews" sympathize with Israel over the Palestinians by 63 percent to 4 percent. Likewise, those seeing Israel as "the fulfillment of biblical prophecy" sympathize 60 percent versus 7 percent for the Palestinians.

Comments: (1) As I have said before, Christian Zionists are, after the Israel Defense Forces, the second most important strategic asset Israel has.

(2) These ratios of up to 16-to-1 are far higher than one would find among Jews in general, though not much different from those among Bible-believing Jews. (August 24, 2006)

Related Topics:  Arab-Israeli debate in the U.S., Public opinion polls, US policy receive the latest by email: subscribe to daniel pipes' free mailing list This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete and accurate information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.