WASHINGTON, 23 November 2002 — US lawmakers: wake up! This, at least, is what Arab Americans and Jewish Americans said in a poll released on Thursday.

The poll, commissioned by the Arab American Institute (AAI) and Americans for Peace Now (APN) is the first-ever joint survey made simultaneously between the two communities.

Results of the polls “shocked” the organizers, said to Debra DeLee, president and CEO of Americans for Peace Now. “This poll sends a message to decision makers in Washington that Arab Americans and Jewish Americans... want to see the US follow policies that will encourage the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, rather than detract from it.”

In the poll, over 95 percent of Arab Americans said they believe Israel has a right to secure and independent existence, and 87 percent of Jewish Americans said Palestinians have the right to live in an independent state.

The two communities blame “both sides” for the derailment of the Mideast peace talks: 41.2 percent of Jewish Americans and 49.6 percent of Arab Americans said both sides are at fault.

“The point here is that there is a large constituency for peace, and the US administration does not know this. It’s important they do, and congressional leaders, too. They also should know that the Arab American and Jewish American communities want to work together for peace,” said Jim Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.

“The survey revealed the majority of American Jews want the US government to be seriously engaged in a policy that will help bring about peace in the Middle East. They want the US government to play an important role, and it’s important that they know that their views are very similar to Arab Americans,” said DeLee.

One of the most significant questions asked in the survey: “Would you support, or not support, a peace agreement between Israelis an Palestinians that included the establishment of an independent, secure Palestinian state alongside an independent, secure Israeli state; the evacuation of most settlements from the West Bank and Gaza; the establishment of a border roughly along the 1967 border; a Palestinian right of return only to inside a new Palestinian state; and establishing Jerusalem as the shared capitol of both countries?” 51.7 percent of Jewish Americans said they supported this, as did 78.9 percent of Arab Americans.

“It’s a very strong message for members of the Bush administration. We knew in past surveys that both communities support the notion of an independent state for each other,” said Zogby. “What we didn’t know is that after two years of horrible violence in the region, they would still be so supportive to the idea.”

The AAI/APN survey found that neither community gave President Bush high ratings for this handling of the Arab/Israeli conflict. Among Arab Americans, 46.4 percent gave him a poor rating, and 22.3 percent gave him a fair rating. Among Jewish Americans, 31.3 percent gave him a poor rating, and 37.7 percent ranked him as fair.

When asked how they felt the Bush Administration was pursuing peace in the Middle East, 65.3 percent of Arab Americans said it was leaning towards Israel and 13.7 percent said it was steering a middle course. Among Jewish Americans, just 38.3 percent said it was leaning towards Israel and 30 percent though it was steering a middle course. Both communities also expressed concern that the Bush administration was leaning towards disengagement from the peace process.

Both also agreed on how they thought the Bush administration should pursue peace. A majority of Arab Americans, 65.8 percent said it should be steering a middle course, while 11.6 percent said it should lean towards Israel and 7.7 percent said it should lean towards the Palestinians. A majority of Jewish Americans, 45.4 percent wanted it to steer a middle course, while 39.4 percent said it should lean towards Israel, and 1.5 percent wanted it to lean towards the Palestinians.

A complete version of the opinion poll can be found at: http://www.aaiusa.org.