Only about one in five Israelis surveyed in a new poll said they trust President Barack Obama to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability.
In this Sept. 30, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. (AP/Charles Dharapak)
The poll, commissioned by The Times of Israel and published Monday, asked eligible Israeli voters whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “I trust U.S. President Barack Obama to ensure that Iran does not achieve a nuclear weapon.”
Twenty-two percent of those surveyed said they agreed, while 64 percent did not. Fifteen percent said they did not know or did not answer.
The poll, conducted by pollster Stephan Miller of (202) Strategies, also showed a deep split among voters who had a favorable view of Obama.
"The survey also asked Israeli voters if they held a favorable view of the U.S. president. Even among the 33 percent who said they did (50 percent said they did not), trust in Obama’s ability to stop an Iranian nuclear weapons push was split evenly at 43 percent to 43 percent," the Times of Israel reported.
The Times of Israel poll showed that a large majority of Israeli eligible voters does not trust Obama to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb (Image source: Stephan Miller/(202) Strategies via Times of Israel)
Like in the U.S., Obama polled more favorably among women.
Among men, 19 percent said they trust the president on Iran, compared with 25 percent of women surveyed.
Miller told TheBlaze that despite the low numbers, the results are still relatively impressive for Obama.
“Look at what the average Israeli voter is hearing about Obama and Iran day in and day out. They hear about a negotiated agreement with a regime that calls for their destruction, constant public Israeli disagreements with Obama on the issue, and reports of Obama attempting to thwart an Israeli attack,” Miller said in an email. “In this media environment, having 22 percent of Israeli voters trust Obama on the issue ain't bad.”
“While the figures show a striking lack of faith in an American president who has vowed time and again to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon, it is worth noting that Obama still fares better among Israeli likely voters, in terms of his favorability rating, than do many senior Israeli politicians who are actually dependent on those voters,” the Times of Israel reported.
By contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earned a 51 percent favorability rating.
The poll was conducted during the last week of December and sampled 802 Israeli adults who had voted in previous elections or were too young to vote then but are eligible to vote now. It also examined a cross section of the population including Russian immigrants and Israeli Arabs.
Read the full Times of Israel poll results here.
