Poll indicates Americans back Israel

JERUSALEM, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A strong majority of Americans say the United States should support Israel and keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons, a poll released Sunday indicates.

The poll -- conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for The Israel Project -- indicates that 66 percent of respondents said the United States should back Israel and 6 percent said it should support the Palestinians. The poll for the non-profit organization found 72 percent agreed that even with U.S. domestic problems, the country must work to prevent a nuclear Iran, The Israel Project said in a news release.

Stanley Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research said the poll indicates both Democratic and Republican voters "find Iran with nuclear weapons to be a grave threat to the (United States) and feel the need to work hard to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons."

The poll found 56 percent of those surveyed said ending the war in Iraq should be one of the top two foreign policy priorities for President-elect Barack Obama, while 41 percent cited defeating al-Qaida and 35 percent defeating the Taliban.

Thirty-three percent cited "preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons" as one of the top two priorities, while 19 percent cited "making peace between Israel and the Palestinians," 15 percent "dealing with the instability in Pakistan" and 8 percent "meeting the threat of (Prime Minister Vladimir) Putin's Russia."