Only 19 percent of Israelis polled expressed support for an attack without U.S. backing, … while 42 percent endorsed a strike only if there is at least U.S. support, and 32 percent opposed an attack regardless. … A majority of Israelis polled, roughly 51 percent, said the war would last months (29 percent) or years (22 percent), while only 18 percent said it would last days. About as many Israelis, 44 percent, think that an Israeli strike would actually strengthen Iran’s government as think it would weaken it (45 percent). Two-thirds of Israelis, meanwhile, believe Hezbollah would most likely join Iran in retaliation against Israel … Only 22 percent of Israelis said a strike would delay Iran’s capabilities by more than five years, while an additional 31 percent said it would delay its capabilities by one to five years, 18 percent said it would not make a difference and 11 percent said it would actually accelerate Iran’s capabilities. In a similar poll … last November, 90 percent of Israelis expressed the view that Iran will eventually acquire nuclear weapons. … these results are probably related to the lack of confidence in the Israeli government’s own assessment of the consequences of an attack. … In our recent poll, … Obama was the preferred candidate over every potential Republican rival among Jewish-Israelis … the Israeli public is neither enthusiastic about the prospect of war with Iran nor swayed by the seeming embrace of Israel by our GOP … >>>
