Global publics largely take a positive view of President Obama’s leadership and his overall foreign policy, but his ratings for handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are on balance negative. Majorities or pluralities in 12 of 22 nations surveyed disapprove of how he has dealt with the Middle East, his lowest marks on any foreign policy issue tested. In just seven countries polled do majorities or pluralities approve of his handling of the conflict, while in three nations a plurality offers no opinion. The president receives the least support in predominantly Muslim nations. Arab nations were especially critical of the president; an overwhelming number of Lebanese (90%), Egyptians (88%) and Jordanians (84%) say they disapprove of how Obama is handling the Middle East. A majority in Turkey (66%), Pakistan (51%) and Indonesia (56%) — where Obama is especially popular — also disapprove of the president on this issue. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.
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