Majority Of Jews Want Pre-Emptive Strike Against Iran In Poll

Jerusalem, Mar 26: Nearly two-thirds of Israeli Jews believe that the consequences for the Jewish state of a nuclear-armed Iran would be worse than those of an Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic, a poll showed on Monday.

The poll, published in Haaretz newspaper, found that 65 percent of Jewish Israelis agreed with the statement that “the price Israel would have to pay for living with the threat of an Iranian bomb would be greater than the price it would pay for attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.”

Commissioned by the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, the survey found 26 percent disagreed with the statement, while nine percent said they were unsure.

It also found that six out of 10 respondents — 60 percent — agreed that only military action could halt Iran's nuclear programme, which Tehran claims is for peaceful civilian purposes but Israel and much of the international community believes masks a weapons drive.

But another 37 percent disagreed with the claim that only military action could halt Iran's nuclear programme, which has prompted the international community to impose tough sanctions on Tehran's exports and financial sector.

A majority of respondents, 64 percent, said they were confident that Israel's military forces could “significantly” damage Iran's nuclear programme, compared to 29 percent who disagreed.

And 63 percent said they believed Israel would suffer the same consequences whether an attack against Iran was carried out by the Jewish state or the United States.

The poll surveyed 505 Jewish Israelis, religious and secular, Haaretz said, without specifying a margin of error.

Israel has said frequently it is keeping all options open for responding to Iran's nuclear programme, which it says poses an existential threat to the Jewish state.

But the United States and other countries have called for time to allow biting sanctions to take effect.

Earlier this month, a poll published by Haaretz showed that 58 percent of Israelis opposed a strike on Iran without US backing.

The same poll, conducted by among 497 Israelis, also found that over half of the respondents trusted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak to deal with the Iran issue.