American Jewish Committee Releases 2002 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion: Strong Support for War Against Iraq

1/24/2003

From: Kenneth Bandler of the American Jewish Committee, 212-891-6771

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 -- A majority of American Jews -- 59 percent -- approve of the United States taking military action against Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power, according to a new survey released today by the American Jewish Committee. Thirty-six percent oppose military action. These findings are comparable to the attitudes of the general American population, as revealed in recent survey data.

More than half of those surveyed -- 56 percent -- believe that a war between the U.S. and Iraq is likely to lead to larger war involving other countries in the Middle East, and 62 percent believe the threat of terrorism against the U.S. will increase if the U.S. takes military action against Iraq.

The American Jewish Committee's Annual Survey of Jewish Opinion, conducted between December 16, 2002 and January 5, 2003, examined views on a possible war against Iraq and on the continuing war against terrorism.

A majority of American Jews -- 59 percent -- approves the way President Bush is handling the U.S. campaign against terrorism. This number has dropped from last year when approval of the U.S. campaign against terror was overwhelming in the post-September 11, 2001, period (85 percent).

As part of the U.S. response to terrorism, the vast majority of American Jews continue to favor increased powers of investigation that law enforcement might use when dealing with people suspected of terrorist activity, even if it would affect civil liberties.

-- 78 percent believe that Americans will have to give up some of their personal freedoms in order to make the country safe from terrorists -- 86 percent of American Jews favor expanded undercover activities to penetrate groups under suspicion -- 67 percent favor the adoption of a national ID system for all U.S. citizens -- 65 percent favor expanded camera surveillance on streets and in public places

Most American Jews, however, oppose profiling as an increased law enforcement power to combat terrorism.

-- 35 percent favor and 62 percent oppose profiling of people and searching them based on their nationality, race or religion.

Market Facts Inc., a leading survey research organization conducted the 2002 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion for the American Jewish Committee. The 1008 respondents were interviewed by telephone between December 16, 2002 and January 5, 2003. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.