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WASHINGTON — Americans most likely describe Israel as the best friend who shares America’s interests and values since the start of the war with Hamas, but they are divided over whether Israel went too far in its reaction to the attack of the month past, according to a new report. Associated Press NORC Public Affairs Research Center Poll.
The poll, conducted Nov. 2-6, also shows Democrats’ skepticism about Israel, which may pose a challenge for President Joe Biden as he tries to balance defending the country with his party’s shifting priorities.
The result is a confusing picture that presents some simple characteristics for the White House as it helps monitor public opinion with an election year on the horizon.
“It’s so confusing,” said Carolyn Reyes, a 36-year-old Democrat in New York. “And I probably wouldn’t even pretend to perceive the confusing nature of the U. S. -Israel dating. “
In an August poll, 32 percent of Americans described Israel as the best friend who shares America’s interests and values. But that figure rose to 44 percent in the most recent poll, conducted after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis.
However, only 36% consider it incredibly or very important to provide assistance to the IDF in the fight against Hamas. And 40% of Americans. The reaction of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip has gone too far. The Hamas-run Gaza Strip Health Ministry said 10,000 Palestinians have died as a result of weeks of Israeli bombardment and a recent ground invasion.
Reyes remembers hearing about the death toll on the news and thinking, “That sounds so loud I thought it couldn’t be true. “
Four thousand young people have died in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and Reyes said “this is the line that is too far. “
It’s a sentiment more prevalent among Democrats, 58 of whom consider Israel’s counterattack excessive.
Overall, 38% of Americans considered Israel’s reaction correct, and only 18% said it had not gone far enough.
The scenario is confusing because of the U. S. interest in balancing several foreign policy objectives simultaneously. About 6 in 10 people think it is incredibly vital or very vital for the U. S. to help hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, while about a portion said the same about preventing harm to Palestinian civilians or offering humanitarian aid in the territory.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) disapprove of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas standoff, while one-third approve. This is in line with his overall approval of his job: 60% of U. S. adults disapprove of how Biden handles his job as president, while 38% approve.
Robert Byrd, a 50-year-old Democrat from Virginia, said he was pleased to see Biden Israel.
During World War II, when the Holocaust took place, “America waited too long for the Jewish community,” he said. “I think we’ve learned from our mistakes in the past. It’s glorious that we have a president who is willing to step in and do the right thing. “
Byrd said he would remain satisfied with the way Biden handled the scenario “until we have troops there,” and he is satisfied with Israel’s reaction to the Hamas attack.
“Israel seeks its independence,” he said.
These sentiments are not as unusual among young voters as Sean O’Hara, an 18-year-old from California. He said he registered to vote but not in any political party.
“Funding a war like this is not compatible with my beliefs,” he said. “I think staying out of it is the most productive option. “
O’Hara became involved with Israel because “they are colonizing all of Palestine and have been doing so for many years. “
Although there was first sympathy among other people she knows for Israel after the Hamas attacks, said O’Hara, who was replaced once “other people were saying, there’s a story here. “
Israel took control of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza in the Six-Day War in 1967.
The West Bank remains occupied by the army. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but imposed a blockade when Hamas took control, and sporadic fighting has occurred there for years.
The Americans blame the ongoing standoff on Hamas, which the U. S. government considers a terrorist organization. About two-thirds of Americans (66%) say Hamas has a giant duty in the war, while 35% say the same about Israel.
Aaron Philipson, a 64-year-old Florida Republican, said he was disappointed with Biden’s strategy in the war.
“He’s not taking a proper position,” he said. It turns out that he is trying to dictate his policy to Netanyahu, and Netanyahu doesn’t seem to understand it,” he said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I’ve never noticed such elevated anti-Israel sentiment,” Philipson said. “It’s terrible what’s happening now. “
About a fraction of Americans (52%) say they are very or very concerned that the recent war between Israel and Hamas will lead to prejudice against Jewish people in the United States. Around four in ten people have the same fear of prejudice against Muslims (4. 3%).
A majority of Democrats are also concerned about prejudice against Jews (57 percent) and Muslims (58 percent). A slight majority of Republicans are concerned about prejudice against Jews (54 percent), while a smaller proportion are concerned about Muslims (28 percent). percent).
Philipson said he didn’t need to vote for Donald Trump again, but would consider supporting the former president in a potential Biden race next year.
Under Biden’s leadership, he said, “everything is falling apart right now” and “this war is like the icing on the cake. “
TOKYO (AP) — An underwater volcano erupted off the coast of Japan three weeks ago, hinting at the birth of a new island, but experts say it probably won’t last long.
The unnamed underwater volcano, located about 800 meters off the southern coast of Iwo Jima, which Japan calls Ioto, began its new series of eruptions on Oct. 21.
Over the course of ten days, volcanic ash and rocks accumulated on the shallow seafloor, and its tip emerged above the surface of the sea. In early November, a new island about 328 feet in diameter formed and emerged as much as 66 feet above the sea, according to Yuji Usui, an analyst with the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Volcanic Division.
Volcanic activity is highest near Iwo Jima and similar underwater eruptions have occurred in recent years, but the formation of a new island is a breakthrough, Usui said.
Since then, volcanic activity at the site has waned and the new island has shrunk as its “brittle” formation is gently swept away by waves, Usui said.
He said experts were still analyzing the development, adding the main points of the deposits. The new island could be longer if it were made of lava or something more durable than volcanic rocks like pumice.
“We just have to look at the evolution,” he said. But the island may not last long. “
Submarine volcanoes and seismic activity have shaped new islands in the past.
In 2013, an eruption at Nishinoshima in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo led to the formation of a new island, which continued to grow after a decade of the volcano’s eruption.
Also in 2013, a small island resurfaced after a massive 7. 7 magnitude earthquake in Pakistan. In 2015, a new island formed after a month-long eruption of an underwater volcano off the coast of Tonga. Of the approximately 1,500 active volcanoes in the world, 111 are located in Japan, which is located on what is known as the “Ring of Fire” of the Pacific, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Iwo Jima was the site of some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, and AP photographer Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of the flag raised atop the island’s Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945, bears a symbol of the Pacific and Pacific War. War courage of the U. S. Marines.
NEW YORK – Joe Manchin’s resolve to seek re-election all but promises that the Democratic Party will lose its Senate seat next year in deep red West Virginia, making the party’s steep path to retaining its seat even more complicated. narrow majority in the Senate.
Some Democratic officials are also concerned that Manchin’s announcement will give him the freedom to run a third-party presidential bid that, in the end, could jeopardize President Joe Biden’s reelection.
Manchin, 76, has floated the presidential bid in the past and made direct reference to national ambitions in the retirement video he posted on social media on Thursday.
“What I’m going to do is I’m going to go around the country and talk to see if there’s any interest in creating a motion to mobilize the network and bring Americans together,” Manchin said.
Manchin’s sudden announcement injects a new layer of uncertainty for Democratic leaders who are already worried about the party’s customers in 2024. Biden is a second term despite persistent considerations about his age and economic leadership by electorates of either primary party. they are clinging to a 51-49 primary in the Senate, after narrowly squandering their House primary last fall.
Barely an hour after Manchin’s announcement, a Boston-based organization filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to form a preliminary committee to inspire Manchin and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney to run a third-party presidential bid.
A user with direct knowledge of the group’s activities said the committee, which is called “America Back on Track,” would go public next week with an initial budget of $1 million. The user spoke on condition of anonymity.
The particular new assignment was created, the user said, to allow Manchin and Romney to run for the presidential nomination at the No Labels National Convention next March in Texas. Romney also declined to run for re-election to the Senate next year.
A spokesman for Manchin declined to comment on the group, while Romney distanced himself from it, despite the involvement of Massachusetts-based attorney Dan Winslow, who was Romney’s chief legal adviser when he was governor of the state.
“Senator Romney was unaware of this effort and does not plan to run for president in any form,” said Romney’s chief of staff, Liz Johnson. Still, the fact that Manchin is actively encouraged to run for president has sparked new anxiety. among Democratic operatives who were already concerned about the impact of third parties in 2024. Progressive activist Cornel West and Robert Kennedy Jr. , environmental lawyer and vaccine leader. Skeptical, he has already run independent campaigns at the White House.
Supported by anonymous donations worth tens of millions of dollars, No Labels has already gained access to presidential elections in a dozen states and many more are expected in the coming months. Its officials say they will decide early next year whether or not to publish a presidential list.
“If Joe Manchin shows up with the No Labels ticket, he would be guilty of sending Donald Trump back to the White House,” MoveOn Political Action executive director Rahna Epting said shortly after Manchin’s announcement. “Joe Manchin set the record squarely on what he is like and rejects any approach to No Labels’ damaging scheme. “
Over the summer, two Democratic-allied primary groups, MoveOn and the centrist Third Way, held briefings on Capitol Hill to warn senior congressional officials about No Labels’ presidential ambitions.
“I’m sad he’s not running for Senate, because obviously we’re going to lose this seat,” Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, said Thursday. But Bennett said he was less concerned about Manchin running for president under the slogan No Labels.
“He needs to be part of the conversation, so he’s not going to close the door on this (presidential election),” Bennett said. “But I don’t see him doing that. “
Manchin has been a long-time friend of No Labels, who has already begun having personal conversations with potential presidential candidates, Manchin added. Over the summer, the West Virginia senator spoke at a No Labels event in New Hampshire, where the nation’s presidential inauguration is being celebrated. primaries.
No Labels issued a statement describing Manchin as “a tireless voice for most American common sense and a longtime best friend of the No Labels movement. “
The group’s officials insist that they would only put forward a candidate as an insurance policy if Biden and Trump landed their party’s presidential nominations, and if it is transparent that No Labels applicants would not accidentally tip the election in Trump’s favor.
STREET. ST. PETER, Minn. — Earl Meyer remembers vividly when his platoon came under heavy fire in the Korean War: He still has shrapnel in his thigh.
But more than 70 years later, the 96-year-old is still waiting for the U. S. military to take care of him and award him the Purple Heart medal, which honors service members wounded or killed in combat.
Meyer provided the Army with documents supporting his claim that he had been wounded in action in June 1951. Doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs agreed that his account of shrapnel from a mortar attack was probably true.
But few of the men in his unit who would have witnessed the war survived, and he believes the doctor who treated him on the battlefield died before he could complete the paperwork.
In April, an Army review board issued what it called a definitive rejection of Meyer’s application for a Purple Heart, presenting inadequate documentation.
His case shows how difficult it can be for wounded veterans to get the medals they’ve earned when the fog of war, the absence of records, and the passage of time make it difficult to present evidence.
“I did not know at first that I had been injured,” Meyer wrote in an affidavit in that part of his rejected appeal. “But when my unit approached from where the mortar shells were falling, I saw my pants sticking to my leg. I bent down to clean this up and found that my hand was covered in blood. “
Meyer took the rare step of suing the Defense Department and the Army in September. The Army’s Office of Public Affairs said it does not comment on ongoing litigation. But after The Associated Press asked for comment on Meyer’s case, senior Army noncommissioned officer Army Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimer said this would be re-examined.
“The senior sergeant with the Army Bureau is talking to Mr. Meyer’s family members and they are looking into the situation,” said the spokesman, the sergeant major. Daniel Wallace said. ” In any case, we are proud of Mr. Meyer’s service to our country. “
Meyer said in an interview that he would not have sued the Purple Heart because his injuries were minor compared to many of the men he served with, but his three daughters persuaded him.
Growing up, they knew he had been wounded in the war, and like many veterans, he never talked much about it. Only in the last decade did he open up to them, which led them to prompt him to seek a Purple Heart.
“I think it will allow you to access the page. Really,” said his daughter, Sandy Baker of New Buffalo, Michigan.
Tony Cross, disability claims and appeals specialist for the American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans service organization, said the Legion doesn’t see cases like Meyer’s of medals being denied, though it did see one this year. The procedure is complicated because each branch of the military has its own approval procedure and it gets even more complicated once a veteran leaves the military, he said.
The main impediment Meyer encountered was a lack of paperwork. He told the AP that the doctor who bandaged his leg told him he would record the bureaucracy showing he had been wounded in combat. But he never did. Meyer believes the doctor may have been killed in combat. Only a few members of his platoon escaped unscathed.
At that point, Meyer was not wounded enough to leave the battlefield. But Army medical records show he hurt his back days later when he fell down a hill while carrying a gun, and that the situation worsened a few days later while raising ammunition. He was evacuated to a MASH unit and then to a hospital ship. Records show that his remedy included a tetanus shot, purportedly for the shrapnel wound.
“I still had the hole in my pants and blood in it,” he said of the time he was hospitalized for his back. He said he still had the patch on his leg. “I already told him at the time. “
But then he didn’t think about picking up the papers for a long-term medal. His brain focused on survival.
“I’m just satisfied to get out of there,” he said.
Accidental back wounds do not qualify a serviceman to receive the Purple Heart, but wounds caused by enemy shrapnel can.
Meyer ended his excursion by guarding the prisoners of war. He was honorably discharged in 1952. His decorations included the combat infantry insignia, reserved for those who actively participated in fighting on the ground under enemy fire. He also received the Congressional Gold Medal for his service in the World War II Merchant Marine.
He still drinks coffee with other veterans a few mornings a week at the American Legion station in St. John’s. John’s. He said his leg wasn’t incredibly painful, but it still hurt. VA doctors told him they didn’t need to threaten surgery. Remove the shrapnel because it was too close to his sciatic nerve.
In 2005, doctors at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis agreed that the leg injury most likely occurred in combat.
“The scar on the left thigh is at least as likely as not (50/50 probability) caused by or resulting from a fight fragment wound,” they wrote in a report. “Reasonable doubts in his favor have been eliminated,” they wrote in another.
Meyer first ordered a Purple Heart in 2020. The army refused, saying it needed more documents.
U. S. Senator Amy Klobuchar then helped him download documents from the National Archives and conducted follow-up investigations. But even with more evidence, the Military Council for the Correction of Military Records refused. Klobuchar said this week that he would not give up.
A news story from the University of Georgia found that one in eight military families with children visited a food bank in the past year.
The study, recently published through the journal Public Health Nutrition, also showed that Asian, Black and multiracial military families were about 50% more likely to use food assistance than white families. The survey was conducted in 2021, about a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It included 8,326 families nationwide with an active-duty member of the U. S. Army or Air Force. U. S.
According to the study, the chances of a family going to the pantry increase up to 35% for a dependent child.
“If we look at the general U. S. population, roughly a portion of Americans live paycheck to paycheck,” Catherine O’Neal, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor at UGA, said in a written statement. “So it’s not unexpected that what we’re seeing with the military reflects the entire population. “
The study’s authors wrote that it is “vital” to perceive a greater lack of trust in food among military families because it has implications for military retention. According to previous research, about a quarter of military families experience some lack of confidence in food, which means that possibly more families would want food aid than they are receiving lately.
“Generally speaking, the small number of families in the existing study who used such resources would likely imply the need to increase the use of the resources. Those who want resources probably won’t use them,” the study said.
O’Neal pointed to stigma as an explanation for why some people can’t use pantries.
The study found that Army families were more likely to make a stopover at a food pantry than those in the Air Force. Families with two sources of income were less likely to apply for food assistance than those with only one.
The authors recommended that network service agencies come together to raise awareness of available resources. They advised that daycares provide a list of food distribution sites and inform the families they serve about those offerings, while food banks “may advertise other network supports. “
They also said efforts to help spouses find employment “can improve the monetary well-being of military families and reduce food insecurity. “The authors said “targeted data campaigns” can signal those who need it most, such as single-income families, to available resources.
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