Israel at 71
On May 9th Israel will celebrate Independence Day, the 71st anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. What do Israelis think about the state of the country at the age of 71?
Flash 90
On May 9th Israel will celebrate Independence Day, the 71st anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. What do Israelis think about the state of the country at the age of 71?
Overall Situation
Over the past decade and a half there has been a significant increase in the number of Israelis who describe Israel's overall situation as “good”. In the 2003 Israel Democracy Institute's Democracy Index, only 11% of Israelis described Israel's overall situation as “good” or “very good”, compared to 63% who reported that things were “bad” or “very bad”. However, in 2018, 53% of Israelis said that things were good, 30% said “so-so”, and only 16% said “bad”.
General State of Israel (%)
Looking back at 71 years
In April 2019, right before Independence Day the Israel Democracy Institute conducted the first “Israeli Voice Index survey” on perceptions of Israel's success and failures. Overall, 82% of Israelis expressed the view that there have been more successes than failures. Among Jews, a majority of 60% said there were “much more” successes than failures, and one quarter said there were “somewhat more” successes than failures. Among Arab Israelis, the numbers were only slightly lower, with 42% saying there had been much more successes and 27% saying there were somewhat more successes.
Balance of Achievements (Jews and Arabs, %)
Differences exist among different groups of Jewish Israelis. On the Right--- 90% say there have been more successes than failures, compared to 83% on the Center, and 79% on the right. Although younger Jews are more likely to identify with the Right, older Jews were the most satisfied with Israel’s achievements so far. Older Jews were also more likely to say there have been much more successes; a significant majority (66%) of Jews over the age of 55 said that until now there have been much more successes than failures.
Balance of Achievements and Failures (Jews by age, %)
The results for this year are similar to responses to those around the time of the 66th and 70th Independence Day. In 2018, 80% of Israelis said they were satisfied with Israel's achievements, an increase from 71% as compared with in 2014. There was a gap between Jews and Arabs, with 87% of Jewish Israelis satisfied with Israel's achievements prior to the 70th Independence Day, compared to just 40% of Arab Israelis.
Looking ahead to the future
The Israeli Voice Index survey conducted in April also asked Israelis for their opinion about the future of the state of democracy and security in Israel. Overall, Israelis are optimistic about both the future of both, although a slightly larger percent are more optimistic about the future of Israel's security situation than about its democracy. Jewish Israelis are also more optimistic than Arab Israelis. A majority of Jews are optimistic about the future of both, 58% are optimistic about the future of security, and 54% are optimistic about the future of democracy. On the other hand, while a majority (52%) of Arab Israelis are optimistic about Israel's security future, only 39% are optimistic about Israel's democratic future. Among Arab Israelis, 49% are pessimistic about the future of Israel's democracy.
Optimistic about the Future (Jews and Arabs, % Optimistic)
Looking at Jewish Israelis by political camps reveals a wide gap with regard to perceptions of the country’s future. Among Jews on the Right, 74% are optimistic about the future of Israel's democracy, and 69% are optimistic about the future of Israel's security. The Left is much more pessimistic, with only 21% of Jews on the Left optimistic about the future of democracy in Israel and 33% optimistic about the future of security. The Center’s responses fall between the other two, with 34% optimistic about democracy and 50% optimistic about security.
Graph below—all of a sudden, it’s ….”Democratic governance”. Since this is about survey findings, terminology must be consistent with the text.
The Forcecast for the Future (Jews by political camp, %)
Who is Proud to be Israeli?
From 2003 to 2018 the Democracy Index also asked respondents if they were proud to be Israeli. Over time, Jewish Israelis have consistently expressed more pride in being Israeli, although in 2018 a majority of Arab Israelis said they were proud to be Israeli. In 2018, 88% of Jewish Israelis said they were “very proud” or “had quite a lot of pride”, compared to 51% of Arab Israelis.
Proud to be Israeli (Jews and Arabs, %)
When asked whether they are proud to be Israeli, a majority of every subgroup among Jewish Israelis said that they were “very proud” or “had quite a lot of pride”, but there are differences among the groups in the level of that pride. Among National- Religious Jews, 93% are very proud to be Israeli along with 75% of Traditional Jews, as compared with just 56% of Ultra-Orthodox and 51% of secular Jews. These slightly lower levels of pride in being Israeli are likely related to political opposition, either to the current government-- among secular Jews-- or to a secular state among the Ultra-Orthodox.
Proud to be Israeli (Jews by Religiosity, %)
Conclusion
Israelis are very satisfied with what the country has been able to achieve so far. The past decade and a half have seen a significant rise in positive assessments of the country’s overall situation. But, when looking ahead towards the future, Israelis are less optimistic: large gaps exist between Arab and Jewish Israelis and between Right and Left both with regard to their pride in being Israeli, and on the future of the state.