AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL VERY HIGH

A new poll finds that plenty of Americans support Israel, and don't think the US should be leading any "peace process":

A new poll shows that most Americans support Israel, but do not want the U.S. to take the lead in an Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Fifty-five percent of Americans, according to the ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday, sympathize more with Israel than with the Palestinian Authority. Nine percent sympathize more with the P.A., 14 percent sympathize with neither side and 18 percent had no opinion on the question.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents, though, said the U.S. should leave peace talks to the Israelis and Palestinians, while 26 percent said the U.S. should lead the negotiations.

The 69 percent figure is 15 percentage points higher than when the poll last asked about the U.S. role in peace talks 11 years ago, during the second intifada.

Since many Israelis distrust Obama, that's one more reason why it wouldn't do much good for the US administration to "take the lead". Why, as newly discovered, Menachem Begin was disappointed with the Carter administration for similar reasons:

Days before U.S. President Barack Obama is due to land in Israel, a set of classified documents has been publicly released revealing the details of a cabinet meeting held by then Prime Minister Menachem Begin in March 1979, just before then President Jimmy Carter's visit to Israel.

The documents reveal the immense tension between Begin and Carter over the U.S. president's determination to reach a peace agreement, with Begin saying, "This American chutzpah [audacity] makes my blood boil."

More about this can be read on this site.

Update: and here's some news on how very few Israelis trust Obama (via The Blaze):

President Obama has said he wants to speak directly with the Israeli people and reinforce his support for Israel during his trip there next week.

He may have some serious talking to do. A new poll of Israelis conducted by Maagar Mohot Institute and Israeli daily Maariv found that 38 percent believe he is hostile to Israel and 14 percent believe he is indifferent. Only a third think he is supportive.

In addition, Obama is facing steep unfavorable ratings in the country, the poll found. Some 32 percent said they don’t like him but respect him, 19 percent view him unfavorably and 17 percent have a highly unfavorable opinion of him.

Perhaps the most daunting number for Obama in the poll: Only 10 percent view him favorably.

Clearly, very few people here are fooled by his act.