A fascinating new poll in Israel published by Haaretz shows that 57% of Israelis prefer Gov. Mitt Romney to be the next American president, compared to only 22% who would prefer President Barack Obama to remain in office. Israeli Arabs, by contrast, overwhelmingly support Obama. My point in sharing this is not to be partisan. Rather, I think it’s important to share with you an intriguing insight into the mind of modern Israelis. It turns out Israeli Jews overwhelmingly believe Romney would be more pro-Israel and more effective in confronting Iran over the nuclear issue.

This view contrast significantly with American Jews who overwhelmingly favor Obama, though there is some movement among dissaffected Jewish voters to the GOP over the Israel issue.

“The October 2012 results of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University’s monthly Peace Index reveal that a clear majority of Jewish Israelis prefer Republican candidate Governor Mitt Romney (57 percent) over incumbent President Barack Obama (22 percent),” reports Haaretz. “The poll — carried out between October 22 and 24, and conducted among a representative sample of 601 respondents with a margin of error of 4.5 percent — shows significant differences in Israeli attitudes towards the American presidential candidates and upcoming Israeli elections….Support for Romney includes 70 percent of self-defined right-wingers, 54 percent of centrists, and 30 percent of left-wingers.  However, a plurality of Arab Israelis prefers Obama (45 percent) over Romney (15 percent).”