The American Jewish Committee has released a poll of American Jewish opinion on Obama and various policy areas. The poll was conducted in March this year. I have read varying interpretations of it and would be curious what commonwheelers make of it.http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.5915517/k.D620/2010_Annual_Survey_of_American_Jewish_Opinion.htmUPDATE 1: Whatever U.S. Jewish opinion may be, this seems to be the opinion of the U.S. Congress: "One problem Obama faces is that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a coordinating body for the Israel lobbies, has successfully mobilized both houses of Congress against him with regard to putting further pressure on far rightwing Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to stop building settlements. Congress decides on how much money to give Israel annually, and how many weapons to sell it. Obama cannot effectively threaten Netanyahu with a reduction in the billions of dollars a year in aid, trade privileges, loan guarantees, and military equipment sent to Israel by the US. Those goods are in the gift of Congress, and Congress typically yields to AIPAC and its colleagues." http://www.juancole.com/ (April 14)UPDATE 2: If we referred to this as Kristal Nacht-like, would that be anti-Semitic? "Vandals Attack West Bank Mosque""Palestinians in the West Bank town of Hawara awoke on Wednesday to find a blue star of David painted on the outside of their mosque, after what a local resident described as an attack by Israeli settlers who live nearby. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the vandals also uprooted more than 300 olive trees, set two cars on fire and painted the name of the prophet Muhammad, in Hebrew letters, on a wall of the mosque." http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/vandals-attack-west-bank-mosque/?hp

Margaret O’Brien Steinfels is a former editor of Commonweal. 

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