Press Release

May 2014 Peace Index

This month's Peace Index poll covers US-Israel relations, theoretical unilateral moves by the Israeli government, attitudes towards and pursuit of "price tag" perpetrators, and Israeli defense and socioeconomic challenges.

Israeli Jews Divided Over Annexing Territories Following Failure of Peace Talks

Majority of Israelis Believe Socioeconomic Challenges Are Greater Than Security Threats

The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) and Tel Aviv University have released the monthly Peace Index poll, which this month covers Israeli public opinion on US-Israel relations, theoretical unilateral moves by the Israeli government, attitudes toward and pursuit of "price tag" perpetrators, and Israeli defense and socioeconomic challenges.

US-Israel Relations

  • American Support for Israel: In light of US President Barack Obama's statement placing most of the blame for the failure of the peace process on Israel, 64% of Israelis do not believe that statement signals that the US intends to significantly scale back its traditional support for Israel. 30% of Israelis do believe that statement signals an intention to significantly reduce support.
  • Israeli Dependence on American Support: 51% of Israelis do not believe that Israel can withstand a significant reduction of traditional American support, while 44% do believe Israel can withstand a significant reduction of support. (Among Israeli Jews, 70% of the self-defined right believe Israel can withstand a significant reduction of American support as do 24% of the center and 9% of the left.)


Potential Unilateral Moves by the Israeli Government

  • Annexation of Sections of the Territories: Despite the lack of success in the negotiations with the Palestinians, 49% of Israeli Jews and 72% of Israeli Arabs disagree with the idea that Israel should officially annex the areas that are important to it for settlement and security in Judea & Samaria (the West Bank). 43% of Israeli Jews and 18% of Israeli Arabs think Israel should annex those areas important to it. (Israeli Jews who support annexation include 55% of the self-identified right, 33% of the center, and 22% of the left.)
  • Withdrawal from Parts of the Territories: Despite the lack of success in the talks with the Palestinians, 60% of Jewish Israelis disagree with the idea of Israel unilaterally withdrawing from substantial parts of Judea & Samaria (the West Bank) in order to reduce its involvement in Palestinian life, while 37% agree with such a unilateral withdrawal. (Jewish Israelis who support a unilateral withdrawal include 25% of the self-identified right, 43% of the center, and 77% of the left.) 68% of Arabs Israelis favor and 21% oppose such a unilateral withdrawal.
     

"Price Tag" Attacks

  • Attitudes Toward "Price Tag" Attacks: Regarding "price tag" attacks against various targets, the majority of Israeli Jews believe that either no one or only a small minority supports their actions: 73% believe so when attacks are perpetrated against churches, 67% when against mosques, 64% when against the property of Israeli Arabs, and 59% when against Palestinian property in Judea & Samaria (the West Bank). A plurality of Israeli Arabs also believes that either no one or only a small minority supports "price tag" attacks: 45% believe so when attacks are perpetrated against churches, 40% when against mosques, 31% when against the property of Israeli Arabs, and 28% when against Palestinian property in Judea & Samaria (the West Bank).
  • Police Pursuit of "Price Tag" Perpetrators: 64% of Israelis (67% of Jewish Israelis and 48% of Arab Israelis) believe that the Israeli authorities are making a real effort to apprehend the perpetrators of "price tag" crimes. 31% of Israelis (29% of Jewish Israelis and 43% of Arab Israelis) do not believe such an effort is being made.


Israeli Challenges and Budget Allocations

  • Security-Military Risk Facing Israel: 68% of Jewish Israelis define the level of Israel's current security-military risk as high, while 28% define it as low. (Jewish Israelis who see Israel's risk as high include 73% of the self-identified right, 61% of the center, and 62% of the left.) 52% of Arab Israelis define Israel's risk as low, and 38% define it as high.
  • Israel's Capacity to Deal with Threats: 87% of Israelis (91% of the Jewish public and 69% of the Arab public) believe that Israel is able to deal with the security threats and challenges facing Israel. 9% of Israelis (7% of the Jewish public and 21% of the Arab public) do not believe Israel is able to do so.
  • Security vs. Socioeconomic Issues: 53% of Israelis (51% of Israeli Jews and 63% of Israeli Arabs) believe that the socioeconomic challenges facing Israel are greater than the security-military challenges facing it at present. 28% of Israelis (30% of Israeli Jews and 19% of Israeli Arabs) believe that the security-military challenges are more threatening than the socioeconomic ones.
  • The Defense Budget: With regard to the recent debate over potential increases to the defense budget, 48% of Israelis (49% of Israeli Jews and 42% of Israeli Arabs) agree with the Finance Ministry's claim that the defense budget had been augmented recently and that any further expansion would be at the expense of welfare services. 35% of Israelis (37% of Israeli Jews and 26% of Israeli Arabs) agree with the Defense Ministry's claim that such increases are needed because of the threats Israel faces.

 

This survey, conducted on May 28 – 29, 2014, included 605 respondents who constitute a representative sample of the adult population of Israel. The maximum measurement error for a sample of this size is ±4.1%.

The full results of the Peace Index are available on the Peace Index website.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Peace Index Co-Director Prof. Tamar Hermann, contact:
Yehoshua Oz
Director of International Communications
press@idi.org.il