See who likes Israel more than the Jews!

Editor's note: This is another in a series of WND/WENZEL Polls conducted exclusively for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies.

Barack Obama

A new survey reveals literally hundreds of millions of Americans have a strong affinity for Israel and believe the U.S. should intervene if Israel is attacked by Iran.

The poll for WND by Wenzel Strategies also documents that Christians, especially those who describe themselves as born-again believers, largely hold stronger feelings regarding Israel than do Jews.

The poll, a telephone survey conducted Feb. 9-15 with a resulting margin of error of 3.37 percent, showed 3 in 4 Americans agree with the statement that "Israel is the No. 1 target for destruction of Islamic radicals in the Middle East."

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Fifty-five percent confirmed they agree with the belief that Israel is a "flawed nation-state" but still remains "the apple of God's eye."

Nearly the same majority said while Israel seeks peace with its neighbors, "its neighbors are generally unwilling to agree to peace with Israel."

"This survey gives the unmistakable impression that, in yet another area, President Obama is out of step with the mindset of the American people," said the analysis from Wenzel Strategies' Fritz Wenzel. "This was a survey of all adults, which is a significantly more favorable audience for Obama than respondent samples of registered voters or likely voters, and yet American support for Israel far outstrips that shown by the Obama administration to date."

Obama's perspective on Israel was expected to come to head as early as this weekend, regarding a U.N. vote on a proposal to "condemn" Israel for its construction in the West Bank. The U.S. historically has opposed such political statements, but there were reports that this time, perhaps, the U.S. would abandon Israel.

"We are working with our partners in the Security Council, with our friends in the region, to find a consensus way forward that is consistent with our overall approach. There are a lot of rumors flying around and I'm not going to get into any specifics at this time," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

"A good example came just recently during the government crisis in Egypt, where the Obama administration was quick to push for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, who had maintained a 30-year peace treaty with Israel. It is still unknown what the long-term fate of that landmark treaty will be, but it's future is highly unlikely to be more beneficial to Israel, yet Israel security is a top priority for the U.S. public," Wenzel's analysis said.

"Obama's inaction and inattentiveness to the Iranian nuclear weapons threat is another area in Middle East policy where he is at odds with Americans in general. This survey registers significant concern about Iranian threats against Israel and demonstrates an appetite for U.S. involvement to protect Israel in case of an imminent threat," he said.

The results of the 20-question assessment confirmed, too, that those who self-identify as born-again Christians have a powerful affinity for Israel.

To the question, "Agree or disagree: Israel is a flawed nation-state like others but remains, as the Bible says, the apple of God's eye," while 22.4 percent of those affiliating with the Jewish faith said they strongly agreed, 60 percent of those who identify as born-again Christian responded that they strongly agree. Another 21 percent said they somewhat agreed.

Other results:

About 80 percent of born-again Christians disagreed with the statement that Israel "is an aggressor nation," nearly the same as the 85 percent of Jews who held that opinion.
Fifty-eight percent of the Jews said they agreed with the statement that the U.S. does not provide enough moral support to Israel, but more than 62 percent of the born-again Christians held that view.
Thirty-nine percent of the Jews believe the U.S. is undermining Israel by pushing a Palestinian state, while almost 56 percent of the born-again Christians believe that.
Fifty-one percent of the Jews believe the U.S. should make support of Israel the primary plank in Middle East policy, but more than 72 percent of born-again Christians hold that perspective.
Some 22.4 percent of the Jews believe the U.S. will be judged by God according to the way it treats Israel, but 2 of 3 born-again Christians agreed with that statement.
While 55.2 percent of Jews believe Americans should be very concerned about Israel's national security, that figure was 71.1 percent for born-again Christians.

"The survey also shows most Americans believe Israel is under a continuing grave threat from Islamic radicals," the analysis said.

According to the survey, 75 percent of all respondents in the survey said they believe Israel is the top target of Islamic radicals. Eighty-six percent said they are at least somewhat concerned about Israel's national security – and 53 percent said they were "very concerned" about it.

Further, "71 percent said they believe the U.S. should support Israel if Israel engages in military action to counter a possible Iranian nuclear attack against Israel. And, while the U.S continues to wage two other heavy military actions in the region – Iraq and Afghanistan – 64 percent said they would favor using American military troops against Iran if Iran attempts a nuclear attack on Israel."

The report continued, "Even as Iraq remakes itself as a fledgling democracy and Egypt struggles to figure out what its government might look like after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, 62 percent of survey respondents said they agree Israel is the only true pro-Western ally of the United States in the region. Among Republicans, 70 percent said as much, as did 68 percent of political independents, but just 50 percent of Democrats agreed."

"There was striking partisan disagreement on the question of President Barack Obama' pressuring Israel to stop building or repairing Jewish homes in and around Jerusalem. While 61 percent of Democrats approved of Obama's stance, just 28 percent of Republicans felt the same way," the analysis said.

See detailed results of survey questions: