If a new Gallup poll is to be believed, Israel’s position in the eyes of American public opinion has never been better.

The survey found that a remarkable 69% of Americans have a favorable view of the Jewish state, while just 25% of those questioned said they had an unfavorable view of Israel.

By contrast, 62% of Americans view the Palestinian Authority unfavorably, with only 27% having a favorable opinion.

The poll also sought to gauge where Americans stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and there too Israel came out ahead, with an impressive 52% saying they sympathize with the Jewish state, while just 18% said they are more sympathetic to the Palestinian side.

What is truly extraordinary about the results is the fact that despite the widespread bias of the mainstream media, the overwhelming majority of Americans still side with Israel. It is almost as if the steady diet of anti-Israel propaganda being fed to the American public by various media outlets has little, if any, real impact on their world-view.

Indeed, even with all of the energy, funds and resources that the Palestinians have invested in cultivating greater support for their cause, they are still just about as popular as cod-liver oil or spoiled milk.

Of course, much of the bedrock support that Israel enjoys in America is thanks to the growing population of tens of millions of evangelical Christians, whose backing for the Jewish state is passionate, ardent and rooted in Biblical principles.

While some Jews still look askance at such support, it is time for us to put aside our suspicions and recognize the importance of US Christians and the sincerity of their stance. They have proven to be among the best friends that Israel has, and for that we should be grateful and appreciative.

Jordan today decided to return its ambassador to Israel after an absence of over four years.

But the new envoy, Dr. Maaruf al-Bakhit, had scarcely descended from the plane and collected his bags at Ben-Gurion Airport before the Jordanians announced that they now expect to receive something in return from Israel for this “gesture”.

In an interview with Israel Radio this morning, Jordanian government spokesman Asma Khader said that Amman insists that Israel now agree to release Jordanian prisoners and allow Jordanian troops to train the Palestinian security forces.

While it is certainly good news that Jordan’s embassy in Israel will now be manned by a senior diplomat again for the first time since November 2000, it would be a grave error on Israel’s part to “reward” the Jordanians for taking this long overdue step.

After all, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty on October 26, 1994 to normalize relations between the two countries. Part and parcel of any normal bilateral relationship is the exchange of ambassadors. The fact that Jordan has now chosen to return its representative to Tel Aviv is not an act of mercy or benevolence on the part of Amman – it is a basic element in fulfilling the peace treaty between the two countries.

To yield to Jordan’s demand for some “payback” on this matter will only invite further such mischief down the road. Indeed, it will lead other countries, such as Egypt, which has yet to return its ambassador to Israel, to up the ante and seek their own diplomatic or political gains as well at Israel’s expense.

The Government, then, should make it clear to the Jordanians that while Israel welcomes Dr. al-Bakhit to its shores, his arrival should not come with a price tag attached.

This Sunday, the Israeli cabinet is slated to approve two decisions with critical long-term repercussions for the country’s future.

In addition to bringing the expulsion of Jewish communities from Gaza and northern Samaria to a vote, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will also seek ministerial approval of his plan to move the security fence even closer to Israel’s pre-1967 frontier. In effect, the Government is setting the stage to hand over nearly all of the territories to eventual Palestinian control.

Whereas the plan originally approved in October 2003 would have incorporated 16 percent of Judea and Samaria on the Israeli side of the fence, the new plan going before the cabinet on Sunday includes just 7 percent. This, of course, means far less land would remain under Israeli control, and far more Jews will be on the “wrong side” of the fence.

To be fair, a number of the changes made to the fence’s route are the result of rulings by Israel’s Supreme Court, which occasionally seems more concerned about ensuring access to Palestinian olive trees than preserving Jewish lives.

But let’s not kid ourselves – the fence being built has powerful political and symbolic value, and there is little doubt that the Palestinians and others will relate to anything “beyond the fence” as having been conceded by Israel.

It is a testament to this Government's failure that all it has to show for its efforts is retreat, withdrawal and abandonment. Instead of fencing in the bad guys, the Government is handing them 93 percent of what they wanted on a silver platter.

This Sunday, the borders of the country might very well be drastically re-drawn - and in exchange for making unprecedented concessions, Israel will receive nothing, absolutely nothing, in return. Talk about a bad deal.

I can’t believe it. I just can not believe it is true.

By a vote of 59 to 40, with 5 abstentions, the Knesset has now formally approved the expulsion of all Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria.

After 12 years of Oslo, after thousands of innocent Israeli men, women and children were systematically murdered by Palestinian terrorists, after all the suicide bombings, the rocket attacks, the stabbings, the shootings, and the failed “peace accords”, the sovereign parliament of the State of Israel has formally declared defeat.

For decades, Yasser Arafat dreamt of the day when Jews would be forced to flee their homes, handing them over to Palestinian control. But what Arafat failed to accomplish during his lifetime, the Israeli government is now planning to carry out instead.

It defies all logic, it makes no sense. A Jewish government in the Land of Israel expelling Jews from their homes? Is this some sort of nightmare, some type of horrible dream that we will all suddenly awaken from, only to discover that it was an illusion?

I have to admit – I’m afraid. I’m afraid for the 9,000 Jews who face expulsion from their homes. I’m afraid for the growing split in the nation that the withdrawal plan is causing.

But most of all, I’m afraid for the future of this country, for its very identity as a Zionist and Jewish state.

Don’t be fooled – this is about far more than just the fate of 9,000 Jewish “settlers”. This is about the very essence of Israel itself – and when it comes to that, there can be no compromises.

We must raise our voices, loud and clear, before it is too late. We must storm the heavens with our prayers, and plead for Divine mercy and intervention. We must do whatever is legally and morally possible to avert this evil decree.

I can’t believe it. I just can not believe it.

G-d help us all.

The car bomb that tore through downtown Beirut’s beachfront area yesterday, killing former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, did far more than just rock the Lebanese capital. In the days ahead, the shock waves emanating from the explosion will likely ricochet across the entire Middle East - and far beyond.

There seems little doubt that the thuggish regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad was behind Hariri’s untimely demise. The former Lebanese premier had recently become one of the most vocal critics of Syria’s ongoing occupation of Lebanon, and he is said to have committed a great deal of his time, energy and vast fortune to pressing for the removal of Syrian troops from the country.

With the Lebanese opposition growing increasingly vocal (and brave) in calling for an end to Syrian domination, and with Lebanon due to hold a round of elections in a few months’ time, the message behind Hariri’s assassination is unequivocal: Syria has no intention of removing its stranglehold from its tiny and rather helpless neighbor.

Why should anyone outside the region care about any of this? The answer is really quite simple: Syria is rapidly becoming one of the greatest threats to Middle East stability alongside Iran.

The same Syrian regime that is aiding the insurgency in Iraq against US soldiers is also seeking to ensure continued volatility in Lebanon, Israel and elsewhere. Damascus hosts various Palestinian terror organizations, serves as one of the chief backers of Hizbullah, and does not shy away from thumbing its nose at the US and its interests. In other words, Syria is out to disrupt US President George W. Bush’s vision of a more democratic Middle East, and they don’t seem too concerned about the consequences.

It is time for that to change, and rapidly. Enough is enough – how much longer does Washington plan to sit on the sidelines and allow Assad to bleed US troops in Baghdad while simultaneously holding Beirut in a chokehold?

If the US is serious about bringing some more tranquility to the region, then it is time to turn up the heat on Assad and put him on notice that he will pay a heavy price for his actions.

The Bush Administration has tried diplomacy, and even imposed some economic sanctions on Syria early last year. But as Hariri’s killing yesterday clearly demonstrated, that doesn’t seem to have impressed Assad very much.

A couple of US Marine divisions knocking at his palace door, however, now that may just do the trick...