Samuel Rossner, US correspondent for Haaretz, sees a shoft in European attitudes toward Israel, one that may have been caused by the spectacle a Palestinian self—rule in Gaza.

The new Pew Global Attitudes Project offers an interesting reading for both Americans and Israelis. "In past Global Attitudes surveys, the American public's strong pro—Israel stance set it apart from other countries. But that has changed as Germans, in particular, have become much more sympathetic to Israel in its dispute with the Palestinians," the authors state.

A similar poll conducted for The Israel Project by pollster Stan Greenberg a couple of weeks ago found similar trends: "In comparison with similar research conducted at the end of 2002, French attitudes have undergone profound changes. Three years ago, nearly half (47 percent) of the French respondents sided with the Palestinians in the Israeli—Palestinian conflict. The current poll shows support for the Palestinians has dropped by over half, to 21 percent, among those who did express a preference."

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