Poll: Majority of Israelis Opposed to Attacking Iran

Former PM Olmert: No Reason to Attack Now

Amid a growing flurry of speculation that an Israeli attack on Iran is imminent, a new poll from the Dialogue Institute shows a solid majority of the nation is opposed to the idea, with 46 percent against the attack and only 32 percent in favor.

The poll comes in spite of near daily exhortations for war by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and also showed only 34 percent of Israelis remain satisfied with Netanyahu’s conduct in office.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was also openly critical of the planned attack, saying that there was no good reason for Israel to attack Iran “now or in the near future” and accused Netanyahu of “overblown drama.”

“Back in 2003 they said that in 2007 Iran will have a bomb. Now it’s 2012 and there is no bomb,” Olmert noted. Israeli officials have recently been pushing the idea again that Iran is nearing some sort of breakthrough, but don’t appear to have any evidence to back up this allegation.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.