Alexandra Fishman and Max Samarov take issue with what they see as ‘leading’ questions used in a recent and much-publicised opinion poll about US attitudes to Israel’s future. The editors have invited Professor Telhami to respond.

Since 2016, when he established the University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll, Professor Shibley Telhami and his colleagues have published a series of studies about the perspective of Americans on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other political issues. Their work has been covered by the Washington Post, CNN and NPR, and appeared in academic journals such as Middle East Journal, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Political Science Quarterly. The polls are also promoted by the Brookings Institution, a powerful thinktank where Professor Telhami is a fellow. Given their widespread influence, it is important to analyse how reliable these studies are, starting with the most recent one conducted in June, 2023.

There are some key factors to consider when looking into whether or not a poll is accurate. For starters, a reliable poll is not