Arab, Jewish Communities Share Peace Goals

[laststeamtrain]

Arab, Jewish Communities Share Peace Goals
Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, Jun 4 (IPS) - Almost exactly 40 years after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the Arab and Jewish communities of the United States appear largely agreed on the general outlines of a final settlement and the importance of Washington playing a stronger role in bringing it about.

Those are the main findings of a national survey of the two communities carried out late last month and released here Monday by Americans for Peace Now, a Jewish Zionist group, and the Arab American Institute.

"Despite heightened tensions and the devastation of continued conflicts in the region, solid majorities of Arab Americans and Jewish Americans are united in their desire for an end to the occupation and settlements, and for peace through a two-state solution (to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)," said the institute's president, James Zogby.

<snip>

Majorities in both communities described Bush's approach to the region either as favouring Israel or as "disengaged". Asked what approach they preferred, two-thirds of Arab Americans said he should "steer a middle course", a position with which 40 percent of Jewish Americans agreed. Forty-four percent of Jewish respondents, however, said Bush should continue "leaning toward Israel".

<snip>

At the same time, however, each of the two groups underestimated the degree to which the other supports their position. Thus, 60 percent of Arab Americans believe that Jewish Americans support the right of Palestinians to live in a secure and independent state, while only 34 percent of Jewish-American respondents believe that Arab Americans support the same right for Israelis.

<snip>

"While presidential candidates are urged to believe that there's no way to bring the two sides together, in fact the opposite is true," said Zogby. "This is not a situation where the two communities are divided; rather, they are extraordinarily united around the vision of what the Middle East ought to look like."

<more>

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38036