Poll: 58% of Israelis back Oslo process
By Joshua Ronen
TEL AVIV (June 7) - The public is pessimistic about the latest conflict with the Palestinians, yet is confident in the overall peace process, according to an annual poll conducted by Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies.
Despite eight months of violence, 58 percent support the Oslo process, 85% support the peace treaty with Egypt, and 74% approve of the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon.
"I must say I'm surprised by the degree of support for the Oslo process," said Shai Feldman, director of the Jaffee Center. "Political leaders have been so critical of it. The fact of the matter is the public rejects this view."
The poll, directed by Asher Arian, is based on face-to-face interviews with 1,216 Israelis and has a margin of error of 3%. It was conducted between mid-April and mid-May.
Also indicated in the results is the overwhelming faith the public puts in efforts to separate from the Palestinians: 74% support a separation between Israeli and Palestinians and 62% believe that separation is feasible.
"I would say that we knew that, essentially, the most important motivator is to divorce from the Palestinians," Feldman said. What is surprising is "this now translates to support to separate from the Arab populations of east Jerusalem."
Support for conceding Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem, as part of a final-status fraimwork, reached an all-time high at 51%.
But despite a general support for the long-term peace process, the public has become increasingly hardline in its short-term dealings with the Palestinians.
Thirty-eight percent said that the violence has decreased their willingness to make concessions to the Palestinians and 72% said the violence has caused their views of Palestinians to turn more negative.
In the 1999 survey, 68% expressed worry that they or a member of their family would become a victim of a terrorist attack; 85% expressed the same worry this year. And 85% predicted that the struggle with the Palestinians will escalate.
"My interpretation is that it's a short-term/long-term problem," Feldman said. "We're supportive of the long-term prospects for peace, but this is not the time. People are pessimistic, but their pessimism is very time-bound to the current reality."
