Israeli public becoming less optimistic about national security – poll

The Israeli public is becoming less optimistic about national and public security, according to the June Israeli Voice Index by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI).

The percentage of Israelis expressing optimism about the future of Israel’s national security dropped by 12% between May and June (43-31%), one of the three lowest ratings the IDI has ever recorded.

A small decrease was noted in the percentage of Israelis who are optimistic about the future of Israel’s democracy as well.

The gap between Jews and Arabs in these two fields is large, according to the IDI, with Jews more optimistic than Arabs in both fields. In terms of national security, 35% Jewish Israelis expressed optimism, while only 13% of Israeli Arabs said the same. In terms of the future of Israel’s democracy, 38% of Jewish Israelis expressed optimism, while only 11.5% of Israeli Arabs said the same.

When split by political affiliation, the results show that left and center voters are exceedingly pessimistic about both the future of Israel’s national security and democracy, with only 20% of the left and 23% of the center expressing optimism about national security and 10% of the left and 15% of the center optimistic about Israel’s democracy.

Even among right-wing voters, optimism about these two field isn’t particularly high, with a slight majority (57%) of right-wing voters optimistic about Israel’s democracy and a minority (45%) of right-wing voters optimistic about Israel’s national security.

What do Israelis think about the government’s handling of various issues?

The June Israeli Voice Index also found that most Israelis are dissatisfied with the government’s handling of nearly every field, especially the housing and cost of living crises.

77% of Israelis stated that they believe the government is handling the cost of living crisis badly, while 74% said they believe the government is handling the housing crisis badly.

Opinions about the government’s handling of public security and the fight against crime were slightly more optimistic, with just 68.5% rating the government badly. In terms of the fight against terrorism and Israel’s international standing, the percentage rating the government’s handling as bad fell to 58%, with the percentage rating the government’s handling as good sitting at 18% and 23% respectively.

In terms of the government’s handling of the threat posed by Iran, 26% of Israelis said they believe the government is handling the matter well, while 41% said the government is handling it badly and 19% rated the government’s handling as “so-so.”

In terms of settlements in the West Bank, 36% rated the government’s performance well, while 31% rated it badly and 20% rated it as “so-so.”

The IDI noted that in most of the fields checked by the Israeli Voice index, there was a large gap between the rating given by coalition voters and opposition voters, although even among coalition voters the government did not succeed in getting a majority of respondents to give a good rating in any field.

The highest rating given by coalition voters was in terms of the threat posed by Iran, which 48% of coalition voters rated highly. The lowest percentage of good ratings were given in terms of the cost of living crisis (19%) and the housing crisis (17%).

What do Israelis think about Netanyahu?

When asked specifically about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s performance, less than a quarter of respondents gave the prime minister a good grade, with 56% rating his performance as “awful” or “not good.”

When split by political affiliation, 51% of coalition voters gave Netanyahu a good grade, while 88% of opposition voters gave him a bad grade.

What do Israelis think about the judicial reform plan?

When asked about the future of the judicial reform, 36% of respondents said that the reform should be halted, 29% said it should be advanced with widespread consensus, and 25% said it should be advanced as is.

Among coalition voters, 51% said the reform should be advanced as is, while 29% said it should only be advanced with widespread consensus, and 9% said it should be halted.

The IDI noted that the new findings mark a rise in support for passing the reform as is among coalition voters, as two months ago only 43% of coalition voters believed the reform should be advanced without widespread consensus.

The IDI additionally noted that while the majority of Religious Zionist Party and haredi voters support the advancement of the reform as is, only 38% of Likud voters believe the same. 35% of Likud voters believe the reform should only be advanced with widespread consensus.

On the left and center, nearly half (49%) of voters for Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party believe the reform should be advanced with widespread consensus, while in the rest of the opposition parties the majority believe the reform should be halted.

The Israeli Voice Index additionally found that about a majority of Israelis believe that the decisions not to extend the terms of police chief Kobi Shabtai and Bank of Israel governor Amir Yaron were made due to political considerations.

Coalition voters are split on whether or not they believe the decision not to extend Shabtai’s term was made for political reasons, with 32% saying it was and 34% saying it wasn’t. In terms of the decision not to extend Yaron’s term, more coalition voters believe the decision was made for professional reasons (35%) and not political reasons (25%).

Among opposition voters, a vast majority stated that they believe that both Yaron’s and Shabtai’s terms were not extended due to political considerations.

Jewish Israelis split on treatment of Druze Israelis

In terms of the state’s treatment of Druze Israelis, the Israeli Voice Index found that Jewish Israelis are split on the question of if Druze Israelis are treated fairly in light of their contribution to the state, with slightly more (48%) saying they’re treated unfairly compared to those who say they are treated fairly (44%).

Among Israeli Arabs, 59% said they believe Druze Israelis are treated unfairly, while 29% said they believe they are treated fairly. Among Druze Israelis, 92% say they feel that they are treated unfairly.

When split by political affiliation, only 35% of right-wing voters believe Druze Israelis aren’t treated fairly, while 62% of center voters and 81% of left-wing voters feel the same.

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