As Mohamed Morsi makes his first visit to the United States and the United Nations as Egypt’s president, few in his country have much praise for Barack Obama’s handling of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Just 11% of Egyptians say Obama has been fair in his dealings with the Israelis and the Palestinians, according to a Pew Global Attitudes Project survey this spring. The percentages saying this in other predominantly Muslim nations are similar – 9% in Turkey, 11% in Jordan and 18% in Lebanon, for example.
As Obama came into office in 2009, 24% in Egypt said they thought he would be fair in his dealings with the Israelis and the Palestinians, 13 points more than the number that now says he has.