Press Release

Poll: Israeli opinion on economic issues, American support after Boston bombing

Before Budget Submission, 34% of Israelis Approve of Finance Minister’s Job Performance Large Majorities Back Open Skies Agreement, Cancellation of Dankner-Leumi Deal

Before Budget Submission, 34% of Israelis Approve of Finance Minister's Job Performance

Large Majorities Back Open Skies Agreement, Cancellation of Dankner-Leumi Deal

Monday, 13 May 2013, Israel Democracy Institute, 4 Pinsker St., Jerusalem - With public debate over the budget and Israel's economic situation nearing a frenzied pitch, the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) and Tel Aviv University released the results of its latest monthly Peace Index poll on several issues related to the Israeli economy.

Israelis were surveyed regarding the performance of the Finance Minister, recent high-profile economic issues, and the government's priorities.

  • Finance Minister's job performance: Among Israeli Jews, 38% are satisfied with Finance Minister Yair Lapid's job performance, 31% are not, and 31% had no opinion. Only 15% of Arab Israelis are satisfied, 56% are not satisfied, and 29% have no opinion. Overall, 34% of the Israeli public is satisfied, while 35% are dissatisfied and 31% have no opinion.
  • Open Skies Agreement: An overwhelming majority of the Israeli public (77%) supports the Open Skies Agreement, while 11% oppose it.
  • Nochi Dankner - Bank Leumi deal: Two-thirds of the Israeli public (67%) back the decision to cancel Bank Leumi's agreement to forego part of Nochi Dankner's debt to the bank, while a minority (20%) oppose it.
  • Government Priorities: When asked which of the following is the single most important issue the government must address, the Jewish Israeli public selected closing socio-economic gaps (39%), followed by the Iranian threat (16%), public order and violence (15%), reducing the state budget deficit (12%), negotiations with the Palestinians (10%), integrating the ultra-Orthodox (7%), and protecting the environment (2%). Arab Israelis responded slightly differently choosing closing socio-economic gaps (32%), negotiations with the Palestinians and reducing the state budget deficit (19%), public order and violence (16%), the Iranian threat (10%), and protecting the environment (4%).

The poll also asked Israelis regarding the repercussions of the Boston marathon terror attack.

  • Public attitude toward Israeli security: Nearly half (49%) of Israelis believe that the attack will expand support within the American public for Israeli security needs, while 43% believe it will not have an effect and 3% believe it will curtail such support.
  • US administration on Israeli security: Two-thirds of Israeli Jews (67%) believe that the attack will make no difference on how the US government relates to Israeli security needs, 27% believe it will be more attentive, and 2% believe it will be less attentive. Among Arab Israelis, 46% believe the attack will make no difference, while 44% believe the US will be more attentive and 4% believe they will be less attentive.

This survey, conducted April 28 - 30, 2013, included 600 respondents who constitute a representative sample of the adult population of Israel. The measurement error for a sample of this size is 4.5%.

The full results of the Peace Index are available on IDI's 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