Israel a nation of contrasts on Palestinian state bid

[Violet_Crumble]

AS THE United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood inches closer, polls suggest Israelis are coming to accept - as their government has so far refused to do - that they cannot avoid acknowledging the establishment of the new state.

Benjamin Netanyahu's government continues to insist that a return to peace talks - stalled for the past three years - is the only acceptable path. But public opinion researcher and academic Dahlia Scheindlin believes the government is out of step with its people.

''The public is never going to like it , but it is so much more realistic than the political leadership,'' she said. ''On the other hand, I also think they are deeply upset and worried about the diplomatic isolation Israel might endure if the Palestinians are successful.''

In a survey of Israeli Jews Ms Scheindlin undertook in April 2010, which asked whether a Palestinian state would present a threat or opportunity for Israel, 54 per cent said it would be a threat, and 29 per cent said it would be an opportunity. After breaking those figures down, a different picture emerged - 85 per cent of ultra-Orthodox Jews thought a Palestinian state would be a threat, while 48 per cent of secular Jews believed it would be an opportunity.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/israel-a-nation-of-contrasts-on-palestinian-state-bid-20110921-1kl64.html#ixzz1YgLcEjcQ

[pelsar]

1. just a notation...

i am assuming (having not done the research yet) that you would find even greater numbers that were for that gaza pullout.....and probably like me, those numbers that are still "glad" for the gaza pullout probably remain high.

but as future events can never be known, the gaza pullout for the Palestinians, with hamas taking over was probably not a step toward their own unification and peace (though the story is still not finished....). Like wise with the statehood bid, it may look good on the surface, but the series of events that it may bring forth, are all unknown, gaza as a fresh example, is what makes me, personally very hesitant about it. its appears amongst the secular is about 50/50

I believe the Palestinians deserve their own state and to be recognised by the UN. But, like them, I do not believe it will help to get peace - if even the Palestinians are not hopeful about this, I cannot be. Of course it is easy to give support to this now, there are no bombs in Jerusalem. If this violence were to happen again, my views would change like this,'' he said, clicking his fingers.

and then we're really in a mess.....jenin all over again.

[Violet_Crumble]

2. I agree with you that there's a lot of unknowns at this point...

When I read this article I thought it was important to show people that the Israeli public is divided on the statehood bid and that Netanyahu's attitude doesn't necessarily accurately reflect the feelings of a largish sized chunk of the population.