The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) released a statement today in response to a Rasmussen poll of American opinions of the Israel-Hamas conflict, which showed a majority of Democrats opposed to Israel's defensive actions in Gaza while nearly two-thirds of Republicans supported Israel's actions. RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said:

The latest Rasmussen poll (conducted December 30, 2008*) highlights the continuing deep division between rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans regarding support for Israel's right to defend herself. As Israel takes military action to defend herself from the continuous assault of rockets and mortars coming from Hamas-controlled Gaza, that divide is especially note-worthy.

The Rasmussen poll shows that there is a huge split between Democrats and Republicans on whether Israel should have undertaken the current military action against Hamas. Democrats opposed the Israeli action 31%-55% and Republicans supported Israel's course of action 62%-27%.

This is not an isolated instance. We saw a similar split between Democrats and Republicans when Israel fought Hezbollah forces in Lebanon in the summer of 2006...