Soccer Dad

By All Means Ms. Rice--Let's Look At Those Polls

One of Condoleezza's main pillars in pursuing her very hands-on approach to pushing through what amounts to one-sided Israeli concessions in the search for a Palestinian state and peace is that this is what Palestinians want. Not the terrorists mind you, but the 'Palestinian people' themselves. Peace.

For example, Andy McCarthy quotes from Rice's interview with Cal Thomas in October of last year:

Well, you can look at any opinion poll in the Palestinian territories and 70 percent of the people will say they're perfectly ready to live side by side with Israel because they just want to live in peace. And when it comes right down to it, yeah, there are plenty of extremists in the Palestinian territories who are not going to be easily dealt with. They have to be dealt with — Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories — they're terrorists and they have to be dealt with as terrorists. But the great majority of Palestinian people — this is — I've been with these people. The great majority of people, they just want a better life. This is an educated population. I mean, they have a kind of culture of education and a culture of civil society. I just don't believe mothers want their children to grow up to be suicide bombers. I think the mothers want their children to grow up to go to university. And if you can create the right conditions, that's what people are going to do. ... But also it's — look, if human beings don't want a better future, don't want their children to grow up in peace and have opportunities, then none of this is going to work anyway. But I really believe that the people of the Middle East — not the extremists — want the same things that everyone else wants. [emphasis added]

Very nice. Note however that Rice does not specify a particular poll to back this up. Now compare this Pollyanna-ish dream with the reality of an actual poll that McCarthy points to in an article in FrontPage. There you can find the results of the latest poll by Near East Consulting--a Palestinian research institute--on Palestinian issues and attitudes:

A recent poll of Palestinian children shows a direct correlation between the PA curriculum and Palestinian children's opinions. PMW's newest report on Palestinian Authority schoolbooks warns that because of the PA curriculum, which repeatedly and utterly rejects Israel's right to exist, "The well-meaning (Palestinian) student is left with no logical justification or religious option to accept Israel as a neighbor ..." ...

[A] new poll released by Near East Consulting, a Palestinian research institute, ... asked Palestinians, "Does Israel have the right to exist?"

Among young people ages 18 -25, those who have been most influenced by PA education, an overwhelming number - between 84% - 93% — denied Israel's right to exist. [http://www.neareastconsulting.com/] This was higher than the overall figure of 75% who denied Israel's right to exist. It should be noted that PA teachings denying Israel's right to exist are endemic throughout PA society and media, including among Fatah leaders, which would account for the high levels of denial of Israel's legitimacy throughout PA society. [emphasis added]

This is just one more case where the facts and how Condoleezza Rice presents them--differ.

By Daled Amos

Technorati Tags: Condoleezza Rice and Palestinians and Polls.