Netanyahu popular among US Republicans – poll

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a positive opinion of Israel’s prime minister. 

By: World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu viewed favorably among the American public, a new Gallup poll shows.

The poll, published Tuesday, asked Americans how they viewed the leaders of six of the United States’ closest allies.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earned the highest favorable ratings with 48 percent, Great Britain’s Theresa May ranked next with 46 percent, German Chancellor Angela Merkel received 39 percent and Netanyahu came in fourth at 37 percent.

Sadly, between 28 and 35 percent of Americans have never heard of or have no opinion about these leaders.

Netanyahu’s favorable rating is similar to Gallup’s last several results, taken between 1999 and 2015. He was viewed more positively in the US in December 1998 after signing a US-brokered peace treaty with the Palestinians known as the Wye agreement, but quickly returned to the 35 percent range.

His lowest favorable rating in Gallup’s records, 23 percent, came in April 1997 after he narrowly escaped removal as prime minister following an influence-peddling scandal known as the Bar-On Hebron affair.

When asked according to party affiliation, Americans’ views of world leaders demonstrate a highly partisan divide.

Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to feel positively about Netanyahu, reflecting their greater support for Israel and perhaps Trump’s own close relationship with the Israeli leader, Gallup noted.

Netanyahu ranked the highest of the six leaders among Republicans at 64 percent, 30 percent among Independents, and only 17 percent among Democrats.

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted during August 1-12, with a random sample of 1,024 adults, 18 and older, living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. The margin of sampling error is roughly four percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.