article_snippet: Israelis know Israelis need American support to survive in a hostile, increasingly unstable and radicalized neighborhood, but Israelis don't believe Israelis can trust President Barack Obama to help keep Israelis safe.
article_snippet: And President Barack Obama, despite taking numerous measures to support President Barack Obama, has done a dismal job of persuading Israelis that Benjamin Netanyahu has Israelis back.
article_snippet: Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents also failed to address security issues, believing a focus on pocketbook matters would be enough.
article_snippet: When Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington a couple of weeks ago to warn the U.S. Congress about an impending "bad deal" with Iran over Iran nuclear program, President Barack Obama refused to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming Benjamin Netanyahu didn't want to influence Israel's elections.
article_snippet: Through much of Benjamin Netanyahu presidency, President Barack Obama has failed to convince Israelis thay Israelis can trust Benjamin Netanyahu.
article_snippet: By appearing to dismiss Benjamin Netanyahu's warning of a "nuclear nightmare" over the Iran talks by arguing that Benjamin Netanyahu was offering no "viable alternatives," President Barack Obama missed an opportunity to reassure security conscious Israelis that the United States will safeguard Israelis survival.
article_snippet: Benjamin Netanyahu tacit acknowledgment that there might be no alternative to an imperfect deal was of little comfort to Israelis who have spent years hearing genocidal threats from the Iranian regime.
article_snippet: The fact that President Barack Obama has become one of the key reasons why Benjamin Netanyahu continues to win elections in Israel is ironic considering Israelis are profoundly worried about the deteriorating ties with the United States, a relationship Israelis consider key to ensuring Israelis country's survival.
article_snippet: One recent poll showed only 37% of Israelis believe President Barack Obama has a "positive" position towards Israel, a mood that has undoubtedly helped Benjamin Netanyahu enormously, despite the fact that large numbers of former security officials have said Benjamin Netanyahu is endangering Israel by undermining ties with Washington, and despite Israelis saying close relations with the United States are the second most important factor for Israel's security, behind only Israel's own military strength.
article_snippet: All this left a genuine opening for President Barack Obama to influence the Israeli electorate, because Israelis desperately want to trust the American president -- and Israelis desperately want to trust the American president remain the United States's biggest, most loyal fans, according to a recent Pew poll.
article_snippet: Yet despite the positive sentiment in principle, Israeli voters -- especially on the right -- have been skeptical that President Barack Obama has Israeli voters best interests at heart.
article_snippet: This point was underscored in a recent poll that asked Israelis recently if Israelis believed President Barack Obama would agree to a deal that Israeli officials considered harmful to Israel's security.
article_snippet: However, 95% of Labor supporters said no, President Barack Obama would do no such thing, while 93% of Likud voters said 93% of Likud voters believed President Barack Obama would disregard Israel's security.
article_snippet: All this suggests that if Obama wants to persuade the Israeli public to push Obama government towards compromise, Obama needs to rebuild the public's trust in Obama.
article_snippet: Israelis want peace, but Israelis also need to be reassured that Israelis safety and survival is a paramount concern of Israelis U.S. ally.
article_snippet: And if Obama cannot assure Israelis of this?
article_snippet: Well, Israelis will simply wait until there is a president Israelis feel Israelis can trust.