The majority of Israelis are worried about security and democracy. More than half see the country as being in a state of emergency.
Israeli society is deeply divided. This is also reflected in a recent survey by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), which refers to the period in July. The focus is on the government's judicial reform.
Participants were asked, among other things, whether the recently passed proportionality law was good or bad for Israeli democracy. 35 percent viewed it positively, while 60.5 percent viewed it negatively. Among voters of coalition parties, 72 percent supported the law, compared to 4 percent of opposition supporters. The support rate was 40 percent among Jews and 12 percent among Arabs.
Sixty-two percent of coalition supporters and 80 percent of opposition supporters would have favored a compromise before the vote on the bill. Overall, this figure was 68 percent.
Little optimism
Another finding from the "Israeli Voice Index" for July 2023: Optimism regarding national security on the one hand and democratic governance on the other has risen slightly compared to the previous month. However, the levels remain low.
Regarding national security, 36 percent of participants are optimistic, and regarding democracy, 38 percent. In June, these figures were 31 and 34 percent, respectively. Prior to that, in May, 43 and 37 percent held these views.
At the beginning of the year, in January, 46 percent of respondents were optimistic about national security and 38 percent about democratic governance. By January 2022, these figures had risen to 51 and 41 percent, respectively. A year earlier, the survey yielded 63 and 42 percent.
In July, 60 percent of supporters of the governing parties expressed optimism regarding security and 69 percent regarding democracy. Among voters of the opposition parties, the figures were 15 and 11 percent, respectively. The pollsters at IDI conclude: "There is no agreement whatsoever between the two camps regarding Israel's future in terms of national security and democratic governance."
The pollsters also asked whether Israel was in a state of emergency: "Some claim that we are in a state of emergency in view of the severe internal crisis, and that the State of Israel is on the verge of economic, social and political collapse." Fifty-eight percent of the participants agreed, while about a third disagreed.
Among coalition supporters, 30 percent held this view, while among voters of opposition parties, it was 87 percent. Furthermore, 55 percent of Jews and 73 percent of Arabs believe the situation is dire.
Less goodwill towards the police
Another topic was the police. Respondents were asked to assess their deployment during protests against the judicial reform. The pollsters found the change in assessment compared to March particularly interesting.
While 30 percent of participants viewed police actions at demonstrations as poor in March, this figure rose to 42 percent in July. The proportion of those who found them mediocre increased slightly from 26 to 28 percent. In March, 33 percent rated police conduct as good, compared to 23 percent in July.
The survey also inquired about the future of the judicial reform. Thirty-three percent of respondents expected the government to immediately resume the project at full speed at the start of the winter parliamentary session. A further 31.5 percent suspected that the pace would slow. Thirteen percent said the reform would be frozen for six to twelve months. Four percent believed the government would abandon it entirely.
Furthermore, 56 percent of participants thought the protest movement against the reform would grow stronger in the future. 28 percent expected it to weaken.
From July 30 to August 1, adult Israelis were surveyed via the internet and telephone. 615 participants were surveyed in Hebrew and 150 in Arabic. The error rate was reported as 3.55 percent. (Israelnetz)
