Press Release

2014 Israeli Independence Day Mini-Survey

87% of Jewish Israelis Celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut as a Holiday, 68% of Arab Israelis Do Not

Majority of Israeli Jews Support Reducing Gov't Support for  Institutions Which Mark Israeli Independence Day as the "Nakba"

In honor of the upcoming celebration of Israeli Independence Day, the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) carried out a mini-survey of Israeli public opinion on Yom HaAtzmaut, government support to institutions that mark Independence Day as the "Nakba," and public support for candidates in the Israeli presidential elections.

Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) as a Holiday

  • Among Jewish Israelis:

    • 87% of Jewish Israelis consider Yom HaAtzmaut a holiday, while 12% do not.
    • By age, 69% of 18-24 year olds, 77% of 25-34 year olds, 87% of 35-44 year olds, 96% of 45-54 year olds, 95% of 55-64 year olds, and 95% of 65+ year olds consider Yom HaAtzmaut a holiday.
    • By religiosity, 35% of the ultra-Orthodox, 94% of the religious, 90% of traditional-religious, 97% of traditional-non-religious, and 93% of secular consider Yom HaAtzmaut a holiday.
    • By self-identification on the security-foreign policy spectrum, 79% of the right, 88% of the moderate right, 94% of the center, 95% of the moderate left, and 95% of the left consider Yom HaAtzmaut a holiday.
  • Among Arab Israelis, 68% do not consider Yom HaAtzmaut a holiday, while 24% do.

Reducing Government Support for Institutions that Mark the "Nakba"

  • 58% of Israeli Jews would support a law that would give the Minister of Finance the authority to reduce government financial support to institutions that mark Yom HaAtzmaut as the "Nakba" (catastrophe).  33% of Israeli Jews do not support this law.
  • By self-identification on the security-foreign policy spectrum, 57% of the right, 70% of the moderate right, 62% of the center, 41% of the moderate left, and 19% of the left would support the law.

Preferred Presidential Candidate

  • Among Israeli Jews, the candidate with the most support was Reuven Rivlin (32%) followed by Dan Shechtman (13%), Benjamin "Fouad" Ben-Eliezer (10%), Dalia Dorner (8%), and Meir Sheetrit (7%).  30% of respondents either did not know or refused to answer.

About the Survey

This survey, conducted on April 28–29, 2014, included 600 respondents who constitute a representative sample of the adult population of Israel.  The measurement error for a sample of this size is ±4.1%.

For Further Information

Public Opinion: Is Independence Day a Holiday? Public Opinion on Reducing Funding to Organizations that Mark the Nakba The Leading Candidate for President: I Don't Know