AFP
Once sceptical Israelis want four more years for Bush
Date: Mon, Oct 18, 2004
JERUSALEM, (AFP) - Delighted by his wholehearted backing for their government, a majority of Israelis are keeping their fingers crossed that George W. Bush will be returned to the White House next month.
While Bush may be the ultimate bete noire in large parts of the Middle East, a recent poll conducted by Tel Aviv University showed that 55 percent of Israelis want him to win the November 2 US presidential election while only 45 percent want a victory for Democratic challenger John Kerry (news - web sites).
According to the university's Professor Eitan Gilboa, the results are more than merely academic as some 80,000 Israeli residents have the right to vote in next month's ballot.
The situation is a far cry from the race for the White House four years ago when many Israelis ironically feared that Bush's close links to the oil industry would lead him to pursue a pro-Arab policy.
His Democratic rival Al Gore (news - web sites) won 80 percent of votes cast by Jews in 2000 against just 20 percent for Bush.
This time round, the polls are showing that Bush is on course to win 35 percent of the Jewish vote, the Republican party's biggest share since Ronald Reagan (news - web sites)'s 1980 election victory.
One of the key factors behind the transformation were the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington after which Palestinian militant factions found themselves on the wrong side of Bush's "war on terror".
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), the most frequent of all foreign visitors to the White House during Bill Clinton (news - web sites)'s presidency, has been completely ostracised by Bush who has accused him of failing his people.
In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) has been one of the most frequent guests at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, racking up eight invitations since he came to power in 2001.
The hawkish Sharon is one of the few people who would give Bush a run for his money in a Middle East unpopularity contest but the two men have worked increasingly closely, even if their relationship is more professional than warm.
Bush, who raised hackles when he described Sharon as "a man of peace", gave the premier a major boost in April when he enthusiastically endorsed his so-called disengagement plan which will see Israel pull out of the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) next year.
The plan also envisages a strengthened Israeli control of larger West Bank settlements, an idea backed by Bush when he said it was "unrealistic" to expect Israel to leave every part of the occupied West Bank which is now home to nearly a quarter of a million Jewish settlers.
But while Bush may have gained brownie points with the Israelis, Palestinians have never felt so alienated from the leadership of the world's only remaning superpower.
Bush's backing for the disengagement plan dismayed Palestinians, who recognised that it effectively consigned the US-backed roadmap peace plan to the dustbin.
The roadmap, sponsored by the United States, the European Union (news - web sites), Russia and the United Nations (news - web sites), and endorsed by Israel and the Palestinians last year, had aimed for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
But the Bush administration has overseen a freeze in the peace process that the Palestinians have come to feel can only be thawed with a change at the top.
At the moment, the desire for a change among the Palestinians seems more founded on hope rather than expectation as Kerry has given few indications of a radical change of policy in the Middle East conflict.
He has already made clear that he will not meet with Arafat and has defended Israel's construction of the controversial separation barrier in the West Bank.
And he has also branded the main Palestinian armed factions such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as terrorist organisations.
For Israelis, Kerry also remains a largely unknown entity.
Few have been impressed by his suggestions that former president Jimmy Carter or one-time secretary of state James Baker could help kickstart the peace process as both have upset previous Israeli governments.
The United States' strategic support for Israel is so deeply entrenched that any change in administration is unlikely to lead to a radical realignment in policy.
Washington, under presidents of all hues, has been Israel's biggest source of aid and has consistently used its veto power to thwart anti-Israeli resolutions brought before the United Nations Security Council.
SOURCE
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