Israel Matzav: Forget Iran, the Arabs still hate the Jews

Forget Iran, the Arabs still hate the Jews

Six weeks ago, I blogged a post by Michael Totten that claimed that Arabs fear Iran more than Israel. Gregg Carlstrom, who has spent some time in Egypt, claims that Totten is misreading the poll results and that the Joooos remain public enemy number one in the Arab world.

It's true that Arabs are concerned about Iran's nuclear program -- and Arab governments want the U.S. to take an aggressive line with Iran. But there's little evidence that Arab publics think Iran is the new public enemy #1.

Totten bases his argument on this proposition -- which is also repeated by a Financial Times article about the polling data he cites:

According to a new study of public opinion by the folks who host the Doha Debates in Qatar, a clear majority in 18 Arab countries now thinks Iran poses a greater threat to security in the Middle East than Israel.

Just one problem: If you look at the actual polling data (pdf), it says no such thing. Respondents are worried about Iran: A plurality thinks Iran is more likely to use nuclear weapons against an Arab country than against Israel, and 68 percent think Iran wants to build nuclear weapons to "dominate the region."

Read the whole thing.

Is Carlstrom right? Maybe. Of course, no one really knows how truthful poll results are from an Arab world that is filled with repressive regimes. But in any event, no one in Israel was ever counting on any Arab support for a strike against Iran (in the best case scenario, they won't condemn us too aggressively) and no one in the US should count on that support either. Iran has to be taken care of regardless of the desires of the Arab states.

Israel Matzav: Forget Iran, the Arabs still hate the Jews