AMERICANS SKEPTICAL OF PALESTINIAN MOTIVES IN MIDDLE EAST
M&A Poll Shows Distrust of Arafat and Palestinian Authority

MEDIA RELEASE
February 18, 2003

From:  McLaughlin & Associates
Re:  National Survey Results, American Public Opinion On The Middle East
Date:  February 18, 2003

Methodology

This national survey of 1,000 likely American voters was conducted on February 11-12, 2003. All interviews were conducted via telephone by professional interviewers. Respondent selection was at random within predetermined geographical units, which reflect actual voter distributions in a Presidential election. The accuracy of this survey of 1,000 likely voters is +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence interval.

Key Demographics

• Party: 36% Republican, 37% Democrat, 21% Independent
• Ideology: 24% liberal, 34% moderate, 39% conservative
• Religion: 53% Protestant, 28% Catholic, 2% Jewish, 17% other
• Race: 77% White, 11% African-American, 10% Hispanic
• Gender: 52% female, 48% male.

Summary

This national survey outlines six major American viewpoints on the conflict in the Middle East. The clear message of this survey is that the American people believe Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority does NOT want to be a peaceful neighbor to Israel now or in the future.

1. By a 7 to 1 margin (71% to 13%) American voters believe Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority should NOT be granted a state because it has not fulfilled basic peaceful, human rights and democratic conditions.
2. The majority of American voters, by a 2 to 1 margin, believe that if a Palestinian Arab state were established in the near future, the Palestinian state would more likely be a terrorist state (51%) than a peaceful democracy (26%).
3. By a 3 to 1 margin (61% to 19.1%) American voters believe that the goal of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority is NOT peace but the eventual destruction of Israel.
4. By a 3 to 1 margin (64% to 20%) American voters agree with many world leaders who have said they will NOT meet with political figures that deny the Holocaust. Specifically, they believe world leaders should NOT meet with Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), Yasser Arafat's number two man in the Palestinian Authority.
5. More than three-quarters (77% to 12%) of American voters believe that the United States should STOP giving $150 million every year to Palestinian Arabs living in the territories of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
6. Nearly three-quarters (73% to 16%) of American voters believe the United States SHOULD insist that Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority turn over all Palestinian Arabs accused of killing or injuring American citizens.

"President Bush said that Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority must fulfill certain conditions in order to be granted a state, such as fighting terrorism, stopping the promotion of hatred in its media, ending the encouragement of murder in its schools, becoming a democracy, and respecting human rights. Do you believe that Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority has fulfilled these conditions and therefore should be granted a state?"

"If a Palestinian Arab state were established in the near future, do you believe it would more likely be a peaceful democracy, or a terrorist state?"

"Do you believe that the goal of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority is to have a small state living in peace alongside Israel, or is its goal the eventual destruction of Israel?"

"Many world leaders have said they will not hold any meetings with political figures who deny the Holocaust. Yasser Arafat's number-two man, Mahmoud Abbas, has written a book claiming that there is no proof the Nazis killed six million Jews, and that the number of Jews killed by the Nazis may be less than one million. Should world leaders continue to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, or should they refuse to meet with him and treat him the same as others who deny or minimize the Holocaust?"

"Should the United States continue to give $150 million of American taxpayers' money every year to Palestinian Arabs living in the territories of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Palestinian Authority?"

"Should the United States insist that Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority turn over all Palestinian Arabs accused of killing or injuring American citizens?"

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