An article this week in Newsday, a well-known U.S. newspaper, was headlined, "Some Settlers Willing To Move: 83 percent of Israelis say they would relocate if compensated." In the 7th paragraph, correspondent Andrew Metz quoted a "recent poll" backing up the headline's bombastic claims. The survey's findings do not support these numbers, however.
Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson found that the poll was released by the extreme left-wing Israeli Peace Now organization over two months ago. "In other words," Peace Now sums up, "83% of settlers would agree to leave the West Bank and Gaza in exchange for compensation." This conclusion is dubious, in that it is based on those who expressed their preference *in case of dismantlement* - and were not asked about their first choice!
When asked their preferences "in case of dismantlement" - i.e., once it becomes clear that the die has been cast and they have been cast from their homes - 74% said that in that situation, the State should "give evacuees compensation and allow them to choose which solution they prefer for themselves." Another 9% said that in that situation, Israel should resettle "the evacuees" inside the State of Israel.
Peace Now - and Newsday - added these two numbers together and "concluded" that 83% would "agree to leave in exchange for compensation," instead of more accurately explaining that 83% "agree to be compensated if forced to relocate."
Moreover, the next line in the Peace Now poll was totally ignored in the Newsday article. Showing clearly that the vast majority of those who live in Yesha are happy, the poll states, "71% of the settlers would prefer to stay where they live." Instead of coming to terms with the fact that this finding belies the previous "conclusion," Newsday simply ignored it.
Asked if in fact 83% of Yesha-ites want to leave in exchange for compensation, Yesha Council official Pinchas Wallerstein told Zalmanson today, "I don't know where those figures are from. Every indication is that the truth is totally different. The rate of growth in Yesha is higher than in the rest of the country, and people continue to move here all the time." Wallerstein also serves as the Chairman of the Binyamin Regional Council, located just north of Jerusalem.
"Totally groundless," said Yesha Council spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef about the said survey. "Despite all the terrorism, we keep growing - so do you think people would leave for money?"