NYT Says 'Pro-Israel Community' Opposes Iran Deal--Ignoring Actual Opinions
The New York Times depicts Rep. Jerrold Nadler as supporting the Iran deal despite a “pro-Israel community intensely opposed to the deal.” (photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
In a news article about Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D.-N.Y.) endorsing the Iran nuclear deal, the New York Times‘ Alexander Burns (8/21/15) wrote of “the challenge facing Jewish Democrats in Congress, many of whom feel torn between their progressive inclinations and support for Mr. Obama, and their deep relationships with a pro-Israel community intensely opposed to the deal.”
While the “pro-Israel community” is not further defined–it’s a broad category, given that 70 percent of Americans describe themselves as having a favorable view of Israel (Gallup, 2/8-11/15)–the implication is that the Jewish constituents of these congressmembers are overwhelmingly opposed to the Iran deal. But such a generalization about Jewish American opinion is contradicted by polls.
One survey, by the LA Jewish Journal (7/23/15), found 49 percent of US Jews favoring the agreement, with 31 percent opposed. Another poll, conducted for J Street (7/28/15), a progressive pro-Israel organization that supports the deal, found a similar margin, with 60 percent of Jewish Americans pro and 40 percent con.
Even a poll conducted for the Israel Project (7/21/-26/15), a group that opposes the agreement, found only 5 percentage points more Jewish Americans opposing than supporting the deal: 45 vs. 40 percent. (The poll was able to produce a larger margin of opposition, 58 percent vs. 30 percent, by prompting respondents with criticisms of the agreement–a technique known as “push-polling.”)
It’s clear from the available polling that at least a large fraction of American Jews–who are overwhelmingly supporters of Israel–support the agreement with Iran. To define such people out of the “pro-Israel community” does a disservice to them–and to readers who are trying to get an accurate sense of the shape of US politics.
ACTION:
Please ask New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan to address this article’s misleading claim that the “pro-Israel community” is “intensely opposed to the [Iran] deal.”
CONTACT:
New York Times
Public Editor Margaret Sullivan
email: public@nytimes.com
Twitter: @Sulliview
