Well, I think we now have a good idea how the Israeli government feels about it...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20552391

The US position has been the support of Israel no matter what they have done. There are many people in this country, who think that they have been very bad neighbors in the Middle East. They have increased antagonism when they could have acted more responsably on many occasions. I think the unilateral support of Isreal is not as widespread as our government would like to present.

It may also be a regional viewpoint, as the Northeastern U.S. has much closer ties to Isreal than other regions.

Hello AsemMahmod,

Great question. Unfortunately, our presidents have always been war presidents and committed to empire building so I would say that our government is opposed to Palestine bid-from what I have read and what I understand. Many Americans, including myself, are very opposed to the US position on Isreal. I firmly believe that it is always up to the people themselves of any nation to fight for their rights. The US needs to stay out of it. We have caused more harm than good and intervened in far too many human rights struggles that we have no business in. It takes deeply knowing the history, culture and political networks in order to assess any situation. I also believe the UN has abused the law of "responsibilty to protect." As a human rights law student, I would say, my only opinion in the Palestine bid is that I hope that it is what the Palestinians want and if so, I support it. I am definitely not against the Palestinian government but I am against the abuse of power -in that regard, I am against my own government in foreign policy matters.

The United States is committed to uphold the 1948 UN mandate that created the states of Israel and Palestine.

The Palestinians at the time objected to a Jewish homeland and the whole deal. Now, some 60 years later, they still reject the idea of a Jewish state. But, want to have a Palestinian State recognized.

Israel is a democracy. They have every right to exist. All of their wars have been defensive. They are threatened on every side by people who don't even show them basic human respect.

Give up your ideas of destroying Israel and you'll have peace.

The majority of Americans, when they express an opinion, agree with wwhitlock. However, most people here do not follow the issue closely. The American government, however, and especially the Congress, is almost always nearly unanimous in its support of Israel. Since the media of every country are generally deferential to the government, most of the information Americans hear about Israel and Palestine is moderately biased toward Israel.

Not everyone would agree with this last statement. Many Israel supporters contend that much of the media are biased against Israel. However, this is simply not a reasonable position. Recall that a presidential candidate, Howard Dean, was criticized when he called for American policy to be "even-handed." The position is only possible, I think, because those who hold that position cannot imagine how extreme America's position is in the context of world opinion and international law. They imagine that it is impossible for a rational person to be pro-Palestinian. Therefore, the fact that so many countries support Palestine proves that they are irrational. Therefore, any hint of "even-handedness" means that the American media are themselves irrational and surrendering to a world-wide conspiracy against Israel.

At any rate, while a minority of Americans who are forcefully pro-Israel dominate discourse on the subject, most Americans, while decidedly pro-Israel, are much less ideological. Therefore, when an American hears that the Palestinians are asking for a state, the most likely response would be, "Well, yeah. Isn't that obvious?" The pro-Israelis have a difficult time explaining that recognizing the state of Palestine is somehow unhelpful for the peace process- is it also unhelpful to recognize the state of Israel?

Most Americans respond very positively to the slogan "Two states for two peoples." They recognize that borders, natural resources, refugees, and access to holy sights are complicated issues. However, the issue of statehood, as they see it, is not complicated. They may tend to side with Israel on specific issues- where the borders are drawn, for example, or whether it should accept refugees- but the majority of Americans definitely believes that the Palestinians deserve a state.

Having said that, most Americans would not say so publicly. The reason is that the messages they have heard from the government, from the media, and from their religious organizations (especially evangelical Christian churches) have convinced them that Israel is all Good and the Palestinians are all Bad. Therefore, when they make a logical deduction themselves- "Of course the Palestinians should have a state. Isn't that obvious?"- they do not trust their logic. They are busy people. They know that they have not researched the question in detail, especially compared to the people they hear talking about it. The conclusion they finally reach is that they must be wrong, they must not understand the issue very well, and that they would sound foolish if they expressed themselves.

In other words, the American people are like a kind but distracted King, and their government and their media are their Viziers who control what the King hears. If those that are suffering could find a way to speak to the King, they would find a friend. However, they must find a way around the Viziers first.

Most Americans don't know enough about the subject to have an opinion - they can just give you a one sentence answer. Those who do follow the topic have a wide range of opinions on the topic, ranging from "100% Israel" to "100% Palestine" and everything in-between. In the area where I live, most Americans are anti-Israel and engage in anti-Israel protests to support the people of Palestine by any means necessary.

100% Israel is where I stand. I'm fully aware of history, both short term and historical. But that aside, my heart goes out to any group that is struggling to find a home in this world. I only wish that instead of taking a slice off the already very small Israel, a place could have been found in one of the surrounding countries. There is more than enough land in the MidEast for all.

OhioNathaniel: Sorry, but your comment doesn't make sense to me. Why there would be "more than enough land" in the Middle East specifically? If you feel sorry for them, then why don't you invite them to America? I agree that they're struggling to find a home and I feel sorry for them, but killing others and raping their lands isn't a legit way to "find a home"

I'm definitely in favor of a Palestinian UN bid. The longer the world continues to isolate some countries, the easier it is for them to fall into the hands of tyrants who offer them a false sense of security and better life.

As most have stated before me, most Americans wouldn't know what you are talking about. I wouldn't be surprised if 40% of Americans even knew what the U.N. was, let alone Palestine, and probably think Israel is a fictional place from the Bible. Of the Americans who do know about these issues, I'm sure you'd find the majority of them would be in favor of Palestine joining the UN. So It's a tricky question. I think what you really want to ask is how would Americans feel if Palestine actually did join the U.N.... and I would say, I don't think the majority would care if it happened or not.

hmm,,,