WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – Sixty percent of academics and scholars in Middle Eastern studies across several American universities have described the Zionist regime’s occupation of Palestine as “a one state reality akin to apartheid,” a new survey shows.
Conducted by a joint initiative of the University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll and the Project on Middle East Political Science at George Washington University, the survey was distributed to 1,729 recipients, and asked the academics on a wide range of issues, in particular the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and its wider ramification on the Middle East.
Pessimism over the so-called two-state solution continues to grow with 61 percent no longer believing that it is possible compared with 52 percent in February 2021 and 57 percent in September 2021, when two previous rounds of the survey were conducted.
At the same time, 60 percent describe the current reality as that of “one state akin to apartheid.” That’s higher than the February 2021 poll (59 percent) and lower than the September 2021 poll (65 percent). According to the producers of the survey the spike in the September poll may have been due to the highly publicized Human Rights Watch report labeling the Zionist regime’s practices as “apartheid” and the May 2021 Gaza war.
Some 29 percent described the regime’s relationship with its non-Jews inside the occupied territories as “a state akin to apartheid.”
U.S. President Joe Biden’s handling of the Zionist-Palestinian issue received the most negative grades: only seven percent view his policies favorably.
On wider issues related to the Middle East, 58 percent of respondents thought that the Ukraine conflict would weaken Russia’s standing in the region, with only 33 percent expecting that Russia’s operation would strengthen its regional position.
China is seen as a clear beneficiary of the conflict with 63 percent saying that the crises would strengthen its position in the region.
On the question of U.S. relations with key Middle Eastern states, there are clear winners and losers from the Ukraine conflict.
Qatar’s position has been greatly enhanced. Fifty percent say the crisis strengthens its alliance position, and only ten percent say it weakens it. Turkey is also expected to see net benefit with 61 percent saying the current crisis strengthens Ankara’s position and only 15 percent saying it weakens its position.
On the other hand, 36 percent expected the Ukraine conflict to weaken relations between the U.S. and both Saudi Arabia and the UAE. No dramatic changes are expected with U.S. relations with the Zionist regime.