We're told that Obama's policies are really far more pro-Israel than those of George W. Bush, who didn't have the foresight to see the demographic weakness of the Jewish state, and didn't have the courage to pressure its citizens into painful concessions -- for their own good. But the Israeli public is apparently quite hostile to President Obama, news that the anti-Zionist left will no doubt welcome but which should alarm those hoping for real progress in the peace process. David Bernstein makes the key point at Volokh:
This is bad news for Obama's Middle East plans, regardless of whether the poll results are objectively justified. If Israelis think that a pro-Israel president is putting justified pressure on a recalcitrant Israeli prime minister, that prime minister will have to yield or leave office. But if they think the prime minister is standing up for vital Israeli interests against a president who is hostile or indifferent to Israel, they will back the prime minister. Obama might want to invest some of his charm and charisma in wooing the Israeli public.
Much of the analysis prior to Obama's meeting with Bibi focused on the delicate balance that an Israeli prime minister must strike in relations with the United States. If Bibi refused Obama's demands and jeopardized relations between the United States and Israel, he risked a crisis of confidence in his leadership. Give too much ground on settlements and other issues dear to the Israeli right and he risked the same fate. But if only 6 percent of Israelis believe Obama is a friend of Israel, how much pressure to keep warm relations with Washington will Bibi really feel? it's counterintuitive, but Obama may have gone so overboard in his public pressuring of Israel that he's given up his best leverage -- Israeli public opinion.