55% Think Arab World Protests Make Israel Less Safe

Most voters think the growing political unrest in the Arab world is putting Israel further at risk.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the recent unrest in the Middle East will make Israel less safe in the short term. Only five percent (5%) say the political protests in the region have made the Jewish state safer, while 18% say it’s had no impact on Israel’s security. But nearly one-in-four voters (23%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

These views change little when voters are asked about the potential long-term impact. Forty-eight percent (48%) say the unrest in the Middle East will make Israel less safe in the longer term. Just 11% think Israel will be safer in the long term, while 17% say the political unrest will have no impact. Twenty-four percent (24%) are undecided.

Americans have consistently said in surveys for years that Israel is one of the top U.S. allies. Israel is also one of only five countries worldwide that most Americans think the United States should help defend militarily if it is attacked.

While the president is expected to call for more U.S. foreign aid to the Middle East, most Americans favor ending such aid for every country in the region except Israel.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters nationwide was conducted on May 17-18, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.