Approximately 13 percent believe the Palestinians have fulfilled these conditions and should be given a state.
The respondents were 36 percent Republicans, 37 percent Democrats and 21 percent independents; 53 percent Protestants, 28 percent Catholics and 2 percent Jews; 76 percent white, 11 percent black and 10 percent Latino.
The survey also found that:
*By a margin of 77 percent to 12 percent, Americans say “the United States should stop giving the Palestinian Arabs $150 million” in aid each year.
*61 percent believe “the goal of Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority is the eventual destruction of Israel,” while 19 percent say the goal is “to have a small state living in peace alongside Israel.”
*51 percent say a Palestinian state will be a terrorist state, compared with 25 percent who believe it will be a civilized democracy.
*73 percent want the U.S. government to demand that the Palestinian Authority “turn over all Palestinian Arabs accused of killing or wounding American citizens,” while 16 percent say the United States should not make that demand.
*64 percent believe world leaders should refuse to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, who claimed that the Nazis did not murder 6 million Jews, while 20 percent say world leaders should meet with him.
Morton Klein, national president of ZOA, said the survey reflects a growing American awareness of the threat of Islamic terrorism. “They do not want to create yet another state that will be a mini-Iraq promoting hatred and murder,” he said. “They understand that Islamic terrorism threatens not only Israel, but also America and the world.”