Istanbul- Asharq Al Awsat

Although US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has increased his popularity among citizens in Israel, the results of a poll published on Friday showed that only 23 percent of Jews see his move as a positive contribution to the peace process.

The survey, published by the Jerusalem Post, included a large representation of Jewish and Arab citizens. The poll first examined the extent to which respondents considered Trump to be biased toward Israel. In response, 76 percent said the US president was already biased toward Israel, compared to only 2 percent who said he was biased to the Palestinians. 77 percent of the Jews and 69 percent of the Arabs in Israel believe that Trump was biased toward the Israeli state.

In comparison with Trump’s predecessor, only 4 percent of Jews believed that former US President Barack Obama was more supportive of Israel than a supporter of the Palestinians during a poll conducted after Obama’s visit to Cairo, where he delivered a speech paralleling Palestinian suffering with the Holocaust.

Asked whether Trump’s decision on Jerusalem would help solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 76 percent of Arabs in Israel believe that the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would inevitably undermine efforts to achieve peace. On the other hand, about a third of Jewish respondents said the declaration would harm peace efforts, while 23% said it would contribute to peace and 36% said it would have no effect.