BICOM

The political divide in Israel society is between the Left and Right and not the conflict between Jews and Arabs, according to the Israel Democracy Institute’s (IDI) annual survey.

The struggle between Jews and Arabs, which has long been the most significant point of conflict in Israeli society, has dropped to second place. The survey also reveals that 46 per cent believe that Israeli democracy faces grave threats.

President Reuven Rivlin, who was presented yesterday with the 2018 survey, said: “The Israeli public takes seriously what happens in this country. The public is involved, is informed and most importantly goes and votes. From the findings of the report, the Israeli public believes that democracy is good for it. Good for society, good for the economy, good for its children and good for its future. On the other hand, the report identifies divisions and gaps in Israeli society.”

Yohanan Plesner, President of the IDI, said: “The reality of Israel in 2018 is complex, in which two blocs, right and left-centre, understand democracy in different ways, and in which the gaps between these two concepts is growing. However, it seems that a large group of Israelis who identify themselves as centrists, can play an important role as a common denominator that brings these two diverging outlooks closer together.”

The Israel Defence Forces remains the most trusted institution in Israel, with 78 per cent of public confidence, whilst the President of the State and the Supreme Court came second and third, with 61 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.

Eighty per cent of the public believes that their personal situation is good or very good – a 14 per cent increase in the past five years. The survey also shows that 81.5 per cent of Jews are proud to be Israeli, whilst 51 per cent of Arabs are proud to be Israeli.

President Rivlin said: “Why does the fact that half of the Arab citizens of Israel are proud to be Israelis and citizens of the State of Israel not make an impression on the political discourse? It seems that politics, and sometimes the media too, work overtime to hide the everyday, regular story that Arabs and Jews work together, right next to each other, in the biggest Israeli companies, in hospitals, in government ministries.”

This year’s survey was carried out in May with 1,041 respondents, forming a representative sample of the Israeli population aged 18 and over.