Two consecutive polls in Israel converge to constitute a seemingly similar conclusion: Israelis support a two-state solution. But what a difference wording can make.

In YNet yesterday, it was conclusive and definitive:

Some 58% of Israel’s Jewish public backs the “two states for two peoples” solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a Smith Institute poll commissioned by YNet revealed… According to the poll, which was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled trip to Washington, 37% of Israeli Jews are opposed to the two-state solution, while five percent of those surveyed had no opinion on the matter.

In Haaretz this morning the numbers are similar, but with a caveat:

Asked about the peace process, 57 percent of respondents, or 280 people, said that Netanyahu should tell U.S. President Barack Obama that he supports a two-state solution when he visits Washington next week. Only 35 percent said Netanyahu should not give his consent, while 8 percent were undecided.

So, while the first poll indicates that most Israelis support a two-state solution, the second poll barely reveals that Israelis want Netanyahu to tell Obama he supports a two-state solution. Since the first poll doesn’t even specify the wording of the question asked to respondents, one wonders what it is that Israelis really want… Do respondents who want Netanyahu to tell Obama he supports a two-state solution also support it themselves?

What we do know for sure is that Israelis, frustrated by the performance of their leadership, are already “disappointed” by Netanyahu. The two polls I mentioned support such conclusion, seconded by a score of other polls (if you read Hebrew you can see two examples here and here). In most polls half of Israelis aren’t happy with Netanyahu’s performance so far. A lot of it has to do with the week-long process of approving Israel’s budget, but this makes Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama next week much more complicated politically. If his visit to the U.S. ends on a tense note — the week after his government performed miserably in budget negotiations — the public will grow even more restless and unhappy with his government. Bottom line: politically speaking, Netanyahu has much more to lose than Obama from a dispute. This might not make him a wholehearted supporter of a two-state solution, but it can conceivably push his rhetoric in that direction. Existentially speaking, it’s a whole different matter.