Poll finds support for Israel drives votes of US Evangelicals
-7/10/04
Support for Israel is a decisive factor for US evangelicals in choosing between President Bush and Senator Kerry in the upcoming presidential election.
The findings are from a new poll conducted by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
The findings will come as little surprise to those who have watched US Evangelicals, and warned that their interpretations of Scripture foster an ìuncritical and one-sided approach to the future of the Holy Land.î
Responding to the email and website-based survey, 31 percent of 1,875
self-described evangelicals who claimed they were ìvery likelyî to vote in November called support for Israel their primary consideration in selecting a president, and 64 percent called support for Israel ìan important factorî in that choice.
Nearly 98 percent of that group indicated they plan to vote for Bush, whereas 2 percent indicated support for Kerry.
Of 147 ìvery likelyî Jewish voters, 32 percent said support for Israel was the No. 1 concern driving their presidential selection, and 59 percent called support for Israel ìan important factor.î However, concern for Israel among this group did not translate into universal support for Bush, who was favoured by 73 percent of Jewish respondents, with 27 percent supporting
Kerry.
On related issues, 97 percent of evangelicals and 73 percent of Jews saw Bush as a better friend of Israel, compared with 2 percent of evangelicals and 10 percent of Jews who saw Kerryís election as better for the Jewish State. Similarly, 97 percent of evangelicals and 74 percent of Jews saw Bush as the candidate better able to protect the United States, whereas 16 percent of Jews saw Kerry as stronger in this role.
ìIt is reassuring to once again confirm the rock-solid support of
evangelical Christians for Israel and its security,î said Rabbi Yechiel
Eckstein, president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. ìGiven the vast millions of evangelicals in the United States, compared with only 5.2 million Jews, it is not exaggerating to say that evangelical support, as much or more than Jewish advocacy, keeps our country and our legislators focused on Israelís plight and on its role as our most loyal ally.
ìBecause The Fellowship supports humanitarian programs that help Israelis, with a strong focus on victims of terror, I am not surprised that our survey respondents are concerned with Israelís welfare ñ but I am gratified by the strength of that concern.î
In terms of party affiliation, 82 percent of evangelical respondents said they were Republicans, with 10 percent identifying as independent, 5 percent as Democrats and 3 percent as other. Fifty percent of Jewish respondents identified as Republicans, with 27 percent Democratic, 22 percent Independent and 3 percent other.
Full survey results, can be found here
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews was founded in 1983 to promote understanding and cooperation between Jews and Christians and to build broad support for Israel and other shared concerns. Based in Chicago and Jerusalem, The Fellowship in recent years has contributed more than 0 million toward Jewish immigration, resettlement and social welfare projects in Israel, as well as funding food, housing and social service programs for Jews in the former Soviet Union and other areas of poverty and oppression around the world.
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