Poll: Israelis prefer Obama over McCain

In news that is sure to make Joe Lieberman’s head explode, a new poll came out today that shows more Israeli’s would rather see Obama elected president than John McCain.  The poll, which I found on the Huffington Post, shows that Israeli’s favor Obama by a 37-28 margin.

Even more positive news from Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East: a new poll by Israel Radio shows, for perhaps the first time, Israelis preferring Obama to John McCain.

When asked “who would you rather see elected as the next president of the United States,” Obama bested John McCain by a 37-28 margin. While far from a decisive advantage — 35 percent of Israelis chose “no preference” or some other answer — the poll reflects a notably different state of affairs from previous surveys, which generally showed McCain with a large advantage over Obama.

The survey also shows that Obama polls strongly with members of all of the major Israeli parties.

Obama’s competitiveness spanned the political spectrum across Israel’s top three parties. The Illinois Democrat trounced McCain among Israel’s most liberal voters, who belong to the Labor Party (44-6), tied among more right-wing Likud voters (28-28), and held a slight edge among sympathizers of the Kadima Party, which is led by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (40-32).

The poll of 600 Israelis was taken sometime this week, meaning that it is likely the poll was taken before Obama’s trip to Israel.  We can expect the numbers to improve even more once Israeli’s get their first up close and personal look at Senator Obama.

I am usually not one to put too much stock in international polls, especially the recently polling that has come out of Europe, but I believe that a favorable view of Obama in Israel will be a big boost among American Jews.  A lot of American Jews hold duel citizenship in both the US and Israel, and even for those who don’t, many American Jews care about how the next president will be viewed in Israel.

Poll numbers like these can only help dispel some of the myths about Obama, and help his reputation in the Jewish community.