The Israel Democracy Institute's 2021 Israeli Democracy Index reveals a worrying statistic: a 13-year low in the public trust index in the IDF.
The index data shows that a large majority of the public is proud to be Israeli and prefers to remain in the country. However, only about a third estimate that Israel's situation is good - this is the lowest rate in the last decade.
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How proud are Israelis?
• 84.5% of respondents are proud to be Israeli. Among the Arab public, there was a sharp decline in the sense of pride – 27.5% answered that they were proud to be Israeli compared to 56% in 2019.
• 74.51% of the public believe that Israel is a good place to live - 761% of Jews and 661% of Arabs. A similar proportion (721% of Israelis) would prefer to stay in Israel rather than move to another Western country even if they were guaranteed citizenship there. This is an increase from last year's figure, which was 651%.
• The preference to remain in Israel is higher among the Arab public – 80%, than among the Jewish public – 70%.
Do you believe in government institutions?
• IDF: In June, trust in the army among the Jewish public was at a very high rate of 90%, but in October there was a decrease to 78% – the lowest figure since 2008.
• The President of the State: Public trust in him remained virtually unchanged and stood at 58% in October.
• Supreme Court: There was a slight increase in confidence in June to 48% (compared to 42% in October 2020), but this October there was a decrease again to 41%.
• Israel Police: Trust in it dropped from 41% in October 2020 to 33.5% last October.
• At the bottom of the list: the government received 27% of trust, the media with 25%, the Knesset with 21%, and the parties with only 10%.
• The Arab public: Arabs' trust in state institutions is lower than that of Jews and stands at less than half in all categories.
The Arab public's trust in the Supreme Court rose from 40% in October 2020 to almost half (49%). Low trust in the police dropped to 13% in June (from 26% in October 2020), after Operation "Guardian of the Walls", and rose to 22% last October.
And what is the state of the country?
• 31% of Israelis rate the state of the country as "good" or "very good." As mentioned, this is the lowest rate in the last decade.
• The deterioration in the assessment of the general situation was felt especially among the Arab public, but the figure has improved significantly in recent months – in June 48% defined the situation as "bad" or "very bad", in October the figure dropped to 28%.
• Division by political affiliation: On the left, which for the first time in many years is part of the government, the proportion of those who assess the state of the country as "good" or "very good" has increased (17% in June, 29% in October). An increase was also recorded among centrist voters (from 26% to 39%), while on the right the proportion of those who assess the situation as "good" or "very good" is decreasing (39.5% in June, 29% in October).
Do we deserve more?
• Almost half of Jews (48%) believe that they should have more rights in Israel than non-Jewish citizens. This figure has been rising sharply in recent years (27% in 2018, 34% in 2019, and 42% last October).
• On the right, the majority (57%) believe they deserve more rights, compared to about a quarter in the center (28%) and a negligible minority on the left (5%).
Do you feel safe?
• 61% of Jews agree that Israel is successful in ensuring the security of its citizens, compared to 33% of Arabs. There has been a sharp decline in the sense of security among the Arab public compared to the past two years (56% in 2020 and 64% in 2019).
• Only a third of those interviewed believed that Israel succeeds in providing for the well-being of its citizens, without significant differences between Jews and Arabs.
