Invading "Israeli" Jews wonder why they’re there

Source: AFP/news.com.au, 10-09-2008

MOST 'Israeli' Jews have a negative perception of the Middle East with many asking themselves, "What the hell are we doing here?", a survey shows.

Asked to give the first words that came to mind when thinking about the Middle East, 61 per cent of respondents were negative, 20 per cent neutral and 19 per cent positive, Tel Aviv University's Centre for Peace Research said.

The negative responses mainly related to war, terrorism and Islam, the centre's poll found.

"These came along with expressions of a general, colorful nature such as: 'a nutcase region', ' 'I can't take any more of it,' 'God help us,' and 'What the hell are we doing here?''' the centre said.

Among the positive responses, an aspiration to peace was common.

The survey also found that 71 per cent of Jewish 'Israelis' do not believe that 'Israel' will succeed in the coming decades to integrate politically with the rest of the Middle East.

The centre's survey shows that 63 per cent clearly prefer integration with the West.

Among '48' Arabs on the other hand, 34 per cent responded with positive words and images when questioned about the Middle East, 32 per cent had negative responses and 34 per cent were neutral.

The telephone interview of 599 people, was carried out at the start of September.
The sampling error for the poll was 4.5 per cent, the university said.