Daniel Lubetzky

A recent Gallup poll announced in Haaretz shows that 81% of Muslim Americans and 78% of Jewish Americans are aligned in wanting an independent Palestinian state to coexist with an Israeli state, showing that there is support in American communities for a two-state solution.

Spotted by Daniel Lubetzky, by Adeena Schlussel

Gallup poll reveals common ground for Jewish and Muslim Americans

A substantial majority of Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans support a future in which an independent Palestinian state would coexist alongside Israel.

By Shlomo Shamir Tags: Jewish World Middle East peace

A recent Gallup poll has revealed that not only do Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans have similar views regarding how the Palestinian-Israeli conflict might be resolved, but Muslim Americans are significantly more moderate than often believed.

A substantial majority of Muslim Americans (81%) and Jewish Americans (78%) support a future in which an independent Palestinian state would coexist alongside Israel.

According to the poll, 89% of Muslim Americans say there is never a justification for attacks on civilians, compared to 79% of Mormon Americans, 75% of Jewish Americans, and 71% of Protestant and Catholic Americans. It was also found that the frequency with which Muslim Americans — or any other faith group — attend religious services has no effect on whether they justify violence against civilians.

Despite this surprisingly high Muslim opposition to attacks against civilians, most Americans of other faiths, according to the poll, feel Muslim Americans’ do not speak out often enough against terrorism. Of the Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Mormon Americans surveyed, no more than about one-third and as few as one-quarter believe U.S. Muslims are sufficiently vocal in condemning terrorism.

This statistic is in blatant contradiction with the statistic showing that 72% of Muslim Americans believe that they are, in fact, outspoken in their condemnation of terror.

This mismatch may suggest that U.S. Muslims simply have not found the appropriate outlets to make themselves heard. These statistics also reflect the frustration Muslim Americans often express that their repeated condemnations of terrorism seem to go unheard or unnoticed.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, founder and president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, said Tuesday that “the findings of this up-to-date Gallup poll prove that the projects that we have been running for the past several years throughout the U.S. geared toward bringing Jews and Muslims together were successful and achieved their goal.”