American Jews and Non-Jews: Comparative Opinions on the Palestinian Uprising

American Jews have traditionally been known for their close ethnic attachment to Israel. However, it has been suggested that due to recent controversial events and scandals, such as the Pollard spy affair and the Palestinian uprising, Jewish ethnic ties to Israel have eroded to the point where American Jews were distancing themselves from their long-standing support of the Jewish state. In order to test this claim, this article compares the attitudes of American Jews and non-Jews toward the Palestinian uprising and fundamental Arab-Israeli issues. The findings show that during the uprising American Jews remained much more supportive of Israel than non-Jews, a phenomenon probably attributable to a solid Jewish "ethnic attitude structure" regarding Israel.