US Jews back war with Iran – poll

New poll shows a majority of American Jews say the US should use all means necessary, including military intervention, to destroy Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

By World Israel News Staff

A majority of American Jews say the US should go to war with Iran in order to achieve key goals, such as the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, a new poll shows.

The poll was conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute as part of its February Voice of the Jewish People Index.

The survey found that 51% of American Jews believe that “all means, including going to war” should be used to achieve key goals vis-à-vis Iran. Only 31% prefer sanctions and negotiations, and just 11% support diplomatic dialogue alone.

Support for the use of military force strongly correlates with political identification, with 86% of respondents who self-identified as “very conservative” backing the use of force, compared to just 16% of those who called themselves “very liberal.”

By contrast, 45% of “very liberal” respondents prefer sanctions and negotiations, and 29% even support diplomatic dialogue alone.

Most respondents (53%) say the objectives that the US – either through the use of force or a combination of diplomacy and economic pressure – should include not only dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, but also its ballistic missile program and halting Iranian support for terrorist proxy groups.

Just over one-third (34%) said the US should pursue regime change as a primary goal, while 54% of “very conservative” respondents said regime change should be a basic goal.

The poll also found a significant increase in the number of American Jews who believe the US does not do enough to support Israel, rising from 18% a year ago to 31% this month.

At the same time, the share who believe American support is “the right amount” fell from 57% to 48%.

The sense that there is an erosion in the administration’s support for Israel is especially prominent among those who define themselves as centrists and conservatives: Nearly half of conservatives (46%) believe Washington is not standing with Israel to a sufficient degree.