Obama still favorite candidate for U.S. Jews, Palestinians

Barack Obama’s support hailing from American citizens of Palestinian and Jewish backgrounds bolstered his position as the new president of the United States for the second time.

Despite indicators showing some slight decline in Jewish and Arab votes, the majority of the two communities still chose Obama.

American Jews gave Obama 74 percent of the vote for the 2008 election but in 2012, the percentage was down to 70 percent, the Israeli Ynet News reported the preliminary exit poll results.

Unlike Jewish Israelis, who support Republican candidates, American Jews have been the Democratic party’s traditional voters.

Like their U.S. Jewish counterparts, Palestinian Americans were also likely voters for Obama.

A Ramallah-based survey showed that Palestinian Americans considered Obama be the least worst of the two candidates for the White House.
“The foreign policy of the Democrats is not as bad as that of the Republicans,” Middle East Monitor quoted Fawzi, who lived in the U.S. for 12 years, as saying.

Obama garnered 67 percent of the Arab-American vote but according to recent poll conducted by the Arab American Institute, 52 percent of Arab Americans support Obama’s reelection bid while 16 percent remain undecided, Al-Monitor news website reported.

While both Arabs and Arab Americans believe that the U.S. administration is biased in its support for Israel, Syrian Americans were also disappointed over Obama’s vigilance not to be involved in the Syrian conflict.

Syrians, like their Arab counterparts, favored Obama’s lack of war-mongering agendas but were disheartened over his vigilance not to aid rebels against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Yasir al-Ahmed, a spokesman for the FSA in Aleppo, told Al Arabiya this week that he is disappointed over Obama’s approach since the Syrian revolution started 20 months ago. He said Obama has not shown much action past his words. “We are learning towards Romney as he clearly stated to provide us with armors. Where on the other hand, we did not receive any support from Obama.”

Ahmed said he considers America to be “the strongest country in the world” and is capable of “removing and solving any worldwide issues,” however, it decided to take a freeze stand in the Syrian conflict.

Mursi, Netanyahu

Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi said he hoped that Obama’s winning a second term will seep into the interests of both the American and the Egyptian people.

However, Isam al-Iryan, deputy head of the Islamist Justice and Freedom part in Egypt, said that the U.S. foreign policy will not change in the Middle East, adding that Cairo without U.S. direct influence can carry on with its democracy building.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Jewish state’s “strategic alliance” with the United States is “stronger than ever,” and that he will continue working with the U.S. president, Ynet News reported.

Despite Netanyahu’s positive statement, Knesset members from the prime minister's Likud party expressed their disappointment over Obama’s victory.
"Obama is not good for Israel and we’re concerned that he will try to pressure Israel into making concessions because of his chilly relationship with Netanyahu,” said a Likud lawmaker.

Obama unlike Netanyahu believes in a more diplomatic approach to counter Iran’s suspicious ambition to develop nuclear weapons. The Israeli prime minister, who makes occasional fiery statements that the Jewish state is ready to strike Iran, has also expanded Jewish settlements contrary to Obama’s wishes in Palestinian territories.

Israeli media have also reported that “secret negotiations” led were taking place between Obama’s special adviser Valerie Jarrett and Iranian officials in Tehran.

According to Maariv Israeli said the initiative intended to reach a settlement with Tehran over suspending its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, U.S. ambassador Daniel Shapiro ruled out the possibility that Obama will harbor ill will towards Netanyahu for the latter’s perceived support for Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the U.S. presidential campaign, Times of Israeli reported.

“Anyone who knows the president understands that this is not how he thinks,” Shapiro said, adding that talk of revenge against Israel for Netanyahu’s political preferences was “ridiculous.”

“The president is a strategic thinker; his policies are not governed by emotion,” he said.