ZION TRAIN IS COMING OUR WAY:

SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL DRIVES EVANGELICAL VOTE, POLL FINDS (Religion News Service, Oct. 6, 2004)

Support for Israel is a decisive factor in evangelical Christians’ choice between President Bush and Senator Kerry in the upcoming presidential election, according to a poll conducted Sept. 27-Oct.4 by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Responding to the email and website-based survey, 31 percent of 1,875 self-described evangelicals who claimed they were “very likely” to vote in November called support for Israel their No. 1 consideration in selecting a president, and 64 percent called support for Israel “an important factor” in that choice. Nearly 98 percent of that group indicated they plan to vote for Bush, whereas 2 percent indicated support for Kerry.

Of 147 “very likely” Jewish voters, 32 percent said support for Israel was the No. 1 concern driving their presidential selection, and 59 percent called support for Israel “an important factor.” However, concern for Israel among this group did not translate into universal support for Bush, who was favored by 73 percent of Jewish respondents, with 27 percent supporting Kerry.

On related issues, 97 percent of evangelicals and 73 percent of Jews saw Bush as a better friend of Israel, compared with 2 percent of evangelicals and 10 percent of Jews who saw Kerry’s election as better for the Jewish State. Similarly, 97 percent of evangelicals and 74 percent of Jews saw Bush as the candidate better able to protect the United States, whereas 16 percent of Jews saw Kerry as stronger in this role.

“It is reassuring to once again confirm the rock-solid support of evangelical Christians for Israel and its security,” said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. “Given the vast millions of evangelicals in the United States, compared with only 5.2 million Jews, it is not exaggerating to say that evangelical support, as much or more than Jewish advocacy, keeps our country and our legislators focused on Israel’s plight and on its role as our most loyal ally."