Well, Yippee & I'll Be Darned! J Street Knocked Back At Berkeley

California dreamin'

Many who read this will have read the following in The Times of Israel, by a young former IDF soldier flabbergasted at what he's experienced as a StandWithUs shaliach in North America:

'.... I was shocked ... by the anti-Israel bigotry and hostility I encountered, especially in the greater Seattle area, Oregon, and Berkeley. I had been very liberal, a member of the leftist Zionist party, Meretz, but the anti-Semitism and hatred for Israel that I have seen in the U.S. has changed my outlook personally and politically.

This year, from January through May, I went to college campuses, high schools, and churches to tell people about the history of modern Israel, about my experience growing up in the Jewish state, and about my family. I also always spoke about my military service as an officer in an IDF COGAT unit that attends to the needs of Palestinian civilians who are not involved in the conflict and promotes Palestinian civil society. Each time I would speak and take questions for an hour or more. I have shared my personal story with over 16,000 people at many, many college campuses and high schools, including UC Berkeley, Stanford, the University of Washington, Seattle University and many others. Many of those to whom I spoke were supportive, friendly, and open to hearing about my Israel. But, sadly, far too many were not.

When I served as a soldier in the West Bank, I got used to having ugly things said to me, but nothing prepared me for the misinformation, demonization of Israel, and the gut-wrenching, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic hostility expressed by many students, professors, church members, and even some high school students right here in the Pacific Northwest.

I was further shocked by how unaware the organized Jewish community is and how little they are actually doing to counter this rising anti-Semitism, which motivated me to write this article.

This new form of bigotry against Israel has been called the “new anti-Semitism,” with “Israel” replacing “Jew” in traditional anti-Semitic imagery and canards, singling out and discriminating against the Jewish state, and denying the Jewish people alone the right to self-determination. The new anti-Semitism is packaged in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS), which claims to champion Palestinian rights though its real goal is to erode American support for Israel, discredit Jews who support Israel, and pave the way for eliminating the Jewish state. One of BDS’ central demands is the “complete right of return” for all the descendants of the original Palestinian refugees, subtle language that means the end of Israel as the Jewish homeland because it would turn Israel into a Palestinian-Arab majority state.

It is surprising that an extremist group like BDS is ever taken seriously, but BDS advocates have found receptive audiences in some circles. Their campaigns are well organized and in many cases, well financed. They have lobbied universities, corporations, food co-ops, churches, performing artists, labor unions, and other organizations to boycott Israel and companies that do business with Israel. But even if these groups don’t agree to treat Israel as a pariah state, the BDS activists manage to spread their anti-Israel misinformation, lies and prejudice simply by forcing a debate based on their false claims about Israel....

My experiences in America have changed me. I never expected to encounter such hatred and lies. I never believed that such anti-Semitism still existed, especially in the U.S. I never knew that the battlefield was not just Gaza, the West Bank, and hostile Middle Eastern countries wanting to destroy Israel and kill our citizens and soldiers. It is also here in America, where a battle must be waged against prejudice and lies.

I implore American Jews: do more....' (Read the entire article here)

You'll note his mention of the University of California at Berkeley.  That campus, a by-word for student radicalism in the 1960s and afterwards, where this inveterate critic of Israel teaches, where this initiative occurred, and which back in April passed a BDS motion (albeit, according to this report, in a diluted form) would seem to be a campus at which J Street ("the enemy within," as argued here) would thrive.

But it's evident that the campus Jewish Student Union is deeply distrustful of J Street [see NGO's synopsis regarding J Street here], which last year invited Yehuda Shaul, founder of Breaking the Silence [BtS], to campus; he'll be speaking there next month. [See NGO Monitor's synopsis regarding BtS here]

A couple of days ago the Jewish Student Union voted (by eight votes to two, with two abstentions) to deny membership to J Street, which having been turned down in 2011, on grounds that included its invitation to campus of a co-founder of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement [see NGO Monitor's synopsis of that body here], was making a renewed bid for inclusion.

Cheers!

Yesterday's Daily Californian reports:

'.... The bylaws of the Jewish Student Union, an umbrella organization for Jewish student groups on campus, stipulate that a member organization must not host speakers who demonize Israel, said Jewish Student Union President Daphna Torbati.

That requirement was a point of contention surrounding J Street U, which advocates a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Much of the disagreement focused on J Street U’s relationship with Breaking the Silence, an Israeli military veterans’ organization that criticizes Israel’s military operations in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, said Elon Rov, a co-chair of J Street U.

“We are not afraid, as American Jews, to address those [difficult issues],” said Shayna Howitt, J Street U’s national communications co-chair. “We are not afraid … to host people who we might disagree with. We’re not afraid to stand up and question how we can best support Israel, because we’re committed to the safety of Israel.”

Breaking the Silence, however, has garnered serious criticism from other Jewish groups that belong to the Jewish Student Union. Torbati said she was concerned the group unfairly disparages Israeli soldiers.

Jewish Student Union members Avi Hecht and David Eliahu said Jewish students with connections to Israel would be alienated if J Street U were allowed to host Breaking the Silence under the Jewish Student Union umbrella.

“For a lot of members … the (Jewish Student Union is) the only place where they can express their love for Israel because of such an anti-Israel campus climate,” Torbati said. “A lot of people have said that they want the (Jewish Student Union) to stay a place they feel comfortable saying they love Israel.”

Hecht added that Breaking the Silence does not offer a fair picture of Israel’s military operations.

“Regardless of J Street’s intents, the effect of bringing a public event like BtS is detrimental to the image of Israel on our campus,” Eliahu said...."

Read more here

"Why Are They Being Foolishly Anti-Israel?": Caroline Glick On The Strange Ways Of American Jewish Lefties

Here is the Jerusalem Post's most popular columnist, talking at that paper's conference this year; her topic is the lamentable attitude of left-liberal American Jews, including Peter Beinart, regarding Israel, and what should be the response to it.
(Hat tip: reader Ian)

Destroying Israel is the goal of the BDS Movement, with its "deranged, demented perception of Israel," she rightly points out, while talking of musician Roger Waters.

So it's pleasant to be reminded that some show business personalities actually love to visit Israel, as explained in this article.

The Shape Of Things To Come? Ban Jewry from this jury, urges lawyer

American lawyer Frederick Cohn has come up with a dodgy little scheme to deprive citizens who happen (like himself) to be Jewish of their constitutional rights: he wants a judge to bar Jews from membership of a Brooklyn jury set to hear the case of a Muslim New Yorker with links to Pakistan who's alleged to have made three false statements regarding terrorism offences.

Argues Cohn:

“Given that there’s going to be inflammatory testimony about Jews and Zionism, I think it would be hard for Jews to cast aside any innate antipathy.

The American Jewish community is heavily aligned with Israel and Zionism. Here is a guy who is a Muslim, who is opposed to those things.”

A prosecutor in the case retorted:

“I don’t think Judge [Robert] Levy will be ready to violate the Constitution and exclude people from the jury on the basis of their religious beliefs.”

The judge begins selecting jurors this week, and Cohn has admitted that his proposal is a "long shot".

Read more here

Hagel Woos The Jews Who Matter

"Chuck Hagel does not publicly advocate Israel’s destruction, but there is more to the issue than this. To be pro-Israel one needn’t be a fan of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu or of his hapless political opponents.

But Americans who purport to care about Israel’s fate do need to respect its democratic process and understand that the idea that Americans have the right to override the judgment of the voters there is illegitimate. Israel, like any democracy, especially one that is still besieged by its enemies, has plenty of problems. But it does not need to be saved from itself, especially by those, like Hagel, who have long demonstrated little sympathy with its security dilemmas or alarm about the existential threats facing it.

People ... who claim that respect for the stands of Netanyahu’s coalition—which commands the support of a far larger share of Israel’s voters than President Obama won here in 2008 or 2012—is not consistent with supporting Israel are way out of line. So, too, are their attempts to brand the overwhelming majority of Americans who think Israel’s government deserves U.S. support as a conspiracy of neoconservatives and others who don’t speak for the best interest of this country or the Jewish community.

The failure of 20 years of peace processing and concessions to the Palestinians effectively destroyed the Israeli left. That is why Netanyahu is poised to be re-elected later this month with a coalition that is more right-wing than his last government. That may dismay many Americans, but they need to understand that it is the result of Israelis looking at the facts and drawing the inevitable conclusions from them. Unfortunately, many Americans prefer to ignore the reality of the Middle East. Such dreamers who insist on blaming Israel for the lack of peace can call themselves what they like, but that does not allow them to pose as the country’s ardent friends the way Hagel and his fans are trying to.

Hagel is a decorated veteran and a loyal supporter of President Obama. Those are both good reasons for him to sit in the president’s cabinet. But his views on Israel and Iran don’t mesh with the public positions of the president or most Americans. No amount of rhetorical overkill or disingenuous attacks on the pro-Israel community can disguise this fact. Nor can they transform him from the proud opponent of the “Jewish lobby” into the Jewish state’s friend.'

Thus inveighed Jonathan S. Tobin at the conclusion of a heartfelt screed a few days ago.  (See also Isi Leibler's powerful article lamenting Hagel's nomination as Secretary of Defense here)

Ben Stein wrote (see my last blogpost but one)

 "Jews in many cases have loyalties that trump their interest to Israel. Their support of Mr. Obama is a case in point.

You are going to see this in the immediate future, as Mr. Obama lines up his many Jewish friends and supporters to back Mr. Hagel."

And so it is that, as the JTA's Ron Kampeas reports from Washington, DC:

'In recent days, Hagel has secured endorsements from three of the most identifiably Jewish and pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers: U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), as well as U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

The endorsements follow several discussions with lawmakers during which Hagel is said to have expressed regret for the “Jewish lobby” comment. In those discussions, he also assured lawmakers that he is committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“In our conversation, Sen. Hagel made a crystal-clear promise that he would do 'whatever it takes' to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, including the use of military force,” Schumer said in a statement regarding his Monday meeting with Hagel. “He said his 'top priority' as Secretary of Defense would be the planning of military contingencies related to Iran." ....

Calling the term “Jewish lobby” a “very poor choice of words,” Hagel said in a letter to Boxer that “I used that terminology only once, in an interview. I recognize that this kind of language can be construed as anti-Israel.”

He delivered a similar apology over the phone last week to Wasserman Schultz, a flag bearer for Jewish causes among Democrats ...

“He realized some of the things he had said previously were offensive and inappropriate,” Wasserman Schultz told JTA.

Hagel already had the backing of two leading Jewish senators, Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif,), but insiders considered Schumer’s endorsement critical. Schumer has noted repeatedly to Jewish audiences that his name derives from the Hebrew word “shomer,” or guardian, and that he sees Israel’s security as his calling.

Boxer also is a go-to Jewish lawmaker -- she was the lead on a bill last year that enhanced the U.S.-Israel security relationship.

“After speaking extensively with Sen. Hagel by phone last week and after receiving a detailed written response to my questions late today, I will support Sen. Hagel’s nomination as Secretary of Defense,” Boxer said in a release late Monday. “First and foremost, he has pledged without reservation to support President Obama’s polices -- policies that I believe have made our world safer and our alliances stronger.”

Beyond his remarks regarding a “Jewish lobby,” the issues that had exercised Boxer and Wasserman Schultz -- as well as some pro-Israel groups -- had to do with Hagel's past skepticism of the efficacy of unilateral sanctions as a means of keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, as well as his wariness of a military option in the same case.

In his letter to Boxer, Hagel reiterated his preference for multilateral sanctions, noting his past support, but added that unilateral sanctions in some instances were “necessary.” He did not mention the possibility of a strike.

But Wasserman Schultz said that in her phone call with Hagel, “he said that all options should be on the table, including a military option.”

In both interactions, Hagel also noted his solid Senate record voting to fund defense assistance to Israel.

Wasserman Schultz pressed Hagel to explain why he had not signed a number of letters organized by the pro-Israel and Jewish communities, particularly an American Jewish Committee-backed letter in 1999 asking Russian Jewish President Boris Yeltsin to address the rise of violent anti-Semitism. The letter drew 99 signatories out of 100 senators; Hagel was the only one to pass.

The Florida lawmaker told JTA that she was satisfied with his response -- that as a senator he preferred not to write foreign leaders, but over the years wrote Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to express his concern about anti-Semitism overseas....'

Read Ron Kampeas's entire article here

"Poor Israel ... Abandoned By So Many People Who Call Themselves Jewish"

"Poor Israel, poor beleaguered Israel, abandoned by so many people who call themselves Jewish, so alone, so terribly alone."

The words are those of the multi-talented  Ben Stein.

Mr Stein, remembered by an entire generation of now 30-somethings as the soporific economics teacher in the 1980s teen flick Ferris Bueller's Day Off,  is so much more than the sum of the parts he's played in Hollywood.  A Yale-educated lawyer and an economist, he's a prominent Republican writer and speaker.

His latest column in the American Spectator, which concludes with the sentence quoted above, slates Barack  Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel: "one of the most clearly anti-Israel, anti-Semitic members of the Senate (or ex-members in his case) to be Secretary of Defense".

Mr Stein finds "heartbreaking" the fact that

"Most American Jews clearly supported Mr. Obama in his bid for President against a GOP that has been an incomparably stronger supporter of Israel than the modern-day Democrat party.... Barack Obama’s most productive fund-raisers, especially at the “millionaires and billionaires” level that Mr. Obama supposedly hates so much, were almost unanimously Jews. How they are going to square this with Senator Hagel’s nomination to a post that is of life or death importance to Israel is anyone’s guess.... "

He goes on to observe:

"But here is a clue: the really committed left-wing Jew does not care much about Israel. Jews in many cases have loyalties that trump their interest to Israel. Their support of Mr. Obama is a case in point.

You are going to see this in the immediate future, as Mr. Obama lines up his many Jewish friends and supporters to back Mr. Hagel.

 I hope the people who are supporting Chuck Hagel know that by confirming him, they are cementing at 100 percent that odds that Iran will get a nuclear capability without U.S. interference....

As a student of anti-Semitism in Europe before, during, and after the Holocaust, no amount of hatred and loathing for Jews surprises me. Americans who do love Israel should be aware, though, that it is growing much more likely by the moment that there will be a second Holocaust. The only real friends that Israel has on this earth, evangelical Christians, will take note. Whether anyone else will is a big question."

Read all of Ben Stein's article here

A Veteran American Jewish Leader On Obama And Israel ...

In my previous post I mentioned the high levels of support among American Jews for Israel, and although I focused on the recent CAMERA poll conducted by Frank Luntz, I provided the link to an article posted last month by Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick.

In that article, Ms Glick observes, inter alia:

'Over the past year or so, American Jewish opponents of Israel like writer and activist Peter Beinart have sought to intimidate and demoralize Israelis by telling us that American Jews either no longer support us or will stop supporting us if we don't give in to all the Arabs' demands.

But statistical evidence exposes these threats as utter lies. According to mountainous survey evidence, the American Jewish community writ large remains deeply supportive of Israel. Two surveys released last year by the American Jewish Committee and Brandeis University's Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies showed that three quarters of American Jews care deeply about Israel and that Israel is an important part of their Jewish identity. The Brandeis survey notably showed that young American Jews are no less likely to support Israel than they were in the past.

In fact, American Jews under 30 are more hawkish about the Palestinian conflict with Israel than Jews between the ages of 31-40 are.

According to the Brandeis survey, 51 percent of American Jews oppose a future division of Jerusalem, while a mere 29% would support it.

Younger Jews are more opposed to the capital's partition than older Jews are.

It is notable that the Brandeis survey found that political views do not impact American Jews' support for Israel. This is striking because among Americans at large, polls show Republicans are significantly stronger supporters of Israel than Democrats. But not among Jews.

"Liberals felt no less connected than conservatives and were no less likely to regard Israel as important to their Jewish identities. These observations hold true for both younger and older respondents," the Brandeis survey report explained.

Across the board, American Jews blame the Palestinians for the absence of peace and believe there is little chance that there will be peace between Israel and the Palestinians in the foreseeable future. Seventy-five percent agreed with the statement, "The goal of the Arabs is not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel"; 94% said the Palestinians should be required to accept the Jewish state's right to exist.'

She then goes on to deplore the fact that, despite these figures, across America  "Jewish communities are failing to prevent anti-Zionist Jews from hijacking communal funds and facilities to finance anti-Israel activities", and gives many examples of such lamentable occurrences.

For the two polls cited see:
http://www.brandeis.edu/cmjs/pdfs/still.connected.08.25.10.3.pdf
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/09/01/2740757/study-shows-american-jewish-attachment-to-israel-holds-steady

It remains to be seen, of course, whether the overwhelming majority of American Jews will persist in their love affair - to many dedicated Zionists their liaison dangereuse - with Barack Obama into next year's presidential election, but, for good or ill, it seems likely.

One man who fears so is veteran communal leader Harvey Schechter.

Before his retirement in 1993, following a career of over 40 years, Mr Schechter was the Anti-Defamation League's Southwest Region Director.  Below are extracts from his "Open Letter to My Fellow Jews and to All Americans" which he wrote on 27 May in his newsletter Schechter Sez. (Hat tip: DW)

Explaining that from President Obama he "never expected anything good, particularly with respect to ... Israel," he notes that about 78 per cent of American Jews voted for Obama in 2008, and predicts, with regret, that  "Obama will get the lion's share" of their votes in 2012, Schechter continues:

'.... This attachment to the Democratic Party traces back to the passionate love America's Jews developed for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 because of the liberal things he said and did during the Great Depression and his vigorous opposition to Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.  Before 1932, large numbers of Jews voted Socialist and even Republican, the party of Abraham Lincoln, because in New York where more than a million Jews lived, the Democrats were under the control of corrupt Tammany Hall.  That changed with Roosevelt's victory in 1932.

     Right now there is great turmoil in the American Jewish community and especially in Israel because of the speech President Obama delivered at the State Department a few days ago when he made reference to the 1967 borders as the starting point for land swaps between Israel and the Palestinians.   As Rabbi Shmuley Boteach just wrote,

". . . the president's claims to naiveté are ridiculous.  To his detractors Obama is many things, but he is no fool.  He knew full well that to publicly call for a return to the '67 lines was a bomb waiting to detonate.  Obama knew the demand to return to the pre-Six Day War borders spoke directly to the Palestinian narrative."

I agree completely with Rabbi Boteach.....

     When Obama did his 1967 shtick, Mort Zuckerman, publisher of U.S. News & World Report, angrily accused Obama of "betraying Israel." Former Democratic Congressman and famous New York City former Mayor Ed Koch said he will not vote for Obama in 2012.  Of course, November 2012 is almost eighteen months away and anything can happen.

     If you watched Obama's face and body language when Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke at the White House when Obama had to listen to a lecture about the realities in the Middle East, he was obviously boiling mad as Netanyahu in essence told him he didn't know what he is talking about....

     Several liberal commentators and columnists were outraged and said that Netanyahu was ungracious and inappropriate for delivering those comments in a public setting.  [Al Beeb reporters and presenters, predictably, made barbed comments of that sort, from Jeremy Bowen and Mark Mardell down - D.A.] It must also have been very painful for Obama even though he was in England to hear about the brilliant, passionate, and informative speech Netanyahu delivered to a joint meeting of the Congress to genuine thunderous applause and getting about twenty-five standing ovations from Democrats and Republicans alike.

     And good old Hillary Clinton, our esteemed Secretary of State, looks like an absolute fool hav[ing] said a week or so ago that Bashar Assad, the murdering, brutal dictator of Syria is a "reformer."  Yes, she called Assad a "reformer."  How can anyone ever believe them?

     When Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spoke to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), he was magnificent.  I never thought I would say this about Senator Reid, but he was outstanding in his understanding of what is at stake in the Middle East between Israel and her Arab neighbors, and he said it forcefully and convincingly.  Maybe the man in the White House ought to sit down with his Senate Majority Leader and have him explain the situation between Israel and the Arabs.

     Again and again, we Jews are asked to explain the devotion of so many Jews to the Democratic Party which has paid and still pays homage to the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who in my opinion are enemies of the Jewish people and of Israel.  Would they be so tolerant of the equivalent of Jackson and Sharpton in the Republican party?  Of course not. Our Liberalism came to us with our mother's milk.  For most American Jews, their synagogue is the Democratic party;  their faith is Liberalism;  and their Moses is Obama.

     TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS:  Please know that the hatred of Israel in the Arab world is equaled only by their hatred of you and of America.  The Jews may be their first target, but all of us are on their hit list.  The 9/11 attack was an attack on America!

     For the record, Israel gave up land for peace.  It gave back the Sinai Peninsula.  Now there is the possibility of serious threats from the Sinai.  What did Egypt's President Anwar Sadat get for signing a peace treaty with Israel?  He got back the Sinai Peninsula, a Nobel Prize for Peace, and deadly bullets from members of his own army.

     Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians.  What did it get in return?  Thousands of deadly rockets raining down on its citizens.  If President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority repudiates his alliance with Hamas, he knows he will suffer Sadat's fate - a hail of bullets.

     Israel also gave back territory in Southern Lebanon.  What did it get in return?  Thousands of deadly rockets fired by Hezbollah on Israel.

     Dear Friends:  How long would we sit quietly while thousands of rockets poured down on us from Mexico and from Canada? Now you know what Israel is living with.

A friend sent me a marvelous cartoon of Obama meeting with the Queen of England who says to him, "I believe the borders of Britain and the U.S. should be based on the pre-1776 lines with mutually agreed swaps."

One picture is sure worth a thousand words.'

Support For Israel Is High Among American Jews, New Poll Finds

Despite their penchant for publicity, the ratbag Israel-bashing elements in  American Jewry are, happily, unrepresentative.

American Jews are highly supportive of Israel, a new survey indicates.

Commissioned by the 65,000-strong Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA), it was conducted on 16-17 May by Frank Luntz PhD, of Luntz Global.

To quote CAMERA:

"Results show strong belief in Israel's commitment to peace efforts and apprehension about its existential situation and its Palestinian adversaries with their "culture of hatred." Survey respondents also expressed strong support for Israel's right to self-defense and opposition to those who would pressure or sanction the Jewish State."

Knowing that some polls are of limited value, since the sample is too small to be valid or the methodology flawed, I showed the poll's detailed results to an expert in polling data.  He assures me that all's shipshape and Bristol-fashion, as the saying goes, and that in consequence the results of the poll are "very encouraging".

Some of the findings:

84% of respondents expressed strong belief in the Israeli government and people;

85% are committed to seeing genuine peace established between Israel and the Palestinian  Arabs;

78% of respondents consider it "very to 100% necessary" for Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, with an additional 12% considering it "somewhat necessary";

77% are far more sceptical regarding the Palestinian commitment to peace and consider Palestinian incitement against Israel – its "culture of hatred" – to be a major obstacle to that goal, whereas only 12% sawsettlements or "occupation" as stumbling blocks.

78% of respondents consider it "very to 100% necessary" for Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, with an additional 12% considering it "somewhat necessary";

Over two-thirds of respondents fear such a Palestinian state on the West Bank would shortly "attack Israel" and 72% fear Iran would back "more terror" by Palestinians against Israel;

In the wake of the recent Fatah-Hamas accord, 77% believe Israel should "refuse to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority until Hamas renounces terrorism and officially recognizes Israel's right to exist;

Given the fact that over a million Arabs live in Israel, 92% strongly support the contention that Jews should be allowed to live in any future Palestinian state;

On the domestic political front, 81% would be more likely to vote for a representative who publicly deplored Palestinian incitement;

71% oppose boycott, divestment and sanction campaigns against Israel, and 68% oppose such measures against settlements.

Enthuses CAMERA's Executive Director, Andrea Levin:

"The poll results dramatically contradict recent speculation about disaffection among American Jews toward the Jewish state.  Ninety-four percent of respondents said if Israel ‘no longer existed tomorrow' it would be a tragedy. Nearly one in four said they would consider such an event ‘the biggest tragedy of my lifetime.' The concern is reflected in emphatic sentiment (85%) that Israel ‘is right to take threats to its existence seriously,' that Israel's concerns are neither ‘irrational' nor ‘overstated.'

Some news media accounts have tended to amplify a vocal fringe in the American Jewish community that espouses extreme views and policies far out of the mainstream. This poll clarifies what American Jews actually feel and believe.

The overwhelming majority of American Jews are cognizant of threats to Israel, protective of the country, cautious about risks and strongly opposed to such measures as boycotts, including boycotts of settlements."

Source: http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=2050

For the full results see: http://www.camera.org/images_user/pdf/luntz.camera%20poll.results.final.pdf

See also: http://www.carolineglick.com/e/2011/04/american-jewrys-fight.php
for the encouraging  results of other polls.