Article: Israel And The Last Days
 

Israeli and American political and media scrutiny and focus on US President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US-Israel relationship, and Iran’s nuclear drive has been intense of late, thanks to the row surrounding Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to a joint session of the US Congress. Amid the headlines and commentary, one important voice has not been heard – that of the Israeli voter. Asked whether they trust the US president to ensure Iran not get the bomb, an overwhelming 72% do not, compared to 64% in our January 2014 survey. Voters’ current perception of Obama is more negative than his 33% favorable and 50% unfavorable rating in last year’s Times of Israel survey. The growth in the negative perception of Obama has come as his perception among Israeli voters has become more ideologically pronounced, with a rise in favorability among self-identified left-wing voters and drop in favorability among self-identified right-wing voters. Self-identified right-wing voters, a group that makes up 48% of likely voters, have a strongly negative perception toward Obama, with 20% giving him a favorable view and 72% an unfavorable view.