The Middle East Institute is pleased to announce the results of a nationwide public opinion survey conducted in collaboration with Ipsos. Among the main findings of the poll are the following:

 

  • 75 percent of Americans believe that the United States should remain engaged in the Middle East:
    • Half (50 percent) believe the United States should stay engaged in the Middle East, but let them resolve their own conflicts
    • Another quarter (25 percent) support not only staying engaged in the region, but taking a more active role to limit or end conflicts
  • 82 percent of Americans support U.S. engagement in the fight to defeat ISIS, but 73 percent believe the United States is not winning that fight
  • 75 percent of Americans support the nuclear deal with Iran
  • 73 percent support America’s military backing of Israel, and 54 percent favor pressing Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians for peace
  • 68 percent believe that respecting the Muslim-American community is key to stemming domestic risks, and 58 percent believe that countries of the Muslim world are allies in the fight against terrorism
  • Only 43 percent favor accepting more refugees from the Middle East

Please find the complete findings and details of the survey in this paper.


The Middle East Institute (MEI) is an independent, non-partisan, non-for-profit, educational organization. It does not engage in advocacy and its scholars’ opinions are their own. MEI welcomes financial donations, but retains sole editorial control over its work and its publications reflect only the authors’ views. For a listing of MEI donors, please click here.