By Patrick Goodenough,CNSNews
Obama and Netanyahu in earlier meeting
Fewer than one-third of Israelis regard the Obama administration’s views as pro-Israel,according to a new opinion poll reflecting Israeli unease ahead of Monday’s meeting at the White House between the traditional allies’ new leaders.
The 31 percent of respondents taking that position marked a significant drop from the 88 percent of respondents viewing the George W. Bush administration as pro-Israel,according to the Smith Research Institute poll reported in The Jerusalem Post.
Israeli media have been dissecting statements by a range of senior administration figures in recent weeks,trying to get a sense of where the bilateral relationship that most Israelis view as vital is heading – and whether confrontation is looming.
Neither President Obama nor Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has laid out in detail a blueprint for dealing with the challenges in the Middle East,but officials in both governments have set down markers: