A special survey conducted about two weeks ago by the Institute for National Security Studies, which examined public trust in the IDF, revealed worrying data: public trust in the IDF spokesman's reports is at an all-time low, there is overwhelming support for the war's goals - and a worrying decline in motivation to serve in combat.
The survey - published on Channel 14 - states that there is a drastic decline in public trust in the IDF, the General Staff, and the motivation to serve in a combat unit.
At the same time, the survey shows overwhelming support for the government's goals of victory in Gaza.
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According to the survey conducted before the disaster in Majdal Shams, 411% think that a broad action, even a war, should be initiated in response to attacks by the terrorist organization Hezbollah, 241% think that a specific response should be made to each attack by Hezbollah, while 221% think that limited action should be taken.
Regarding the political echelon's determination that the goal of the war is to overthrow the Hamas regime - 78% responded that they largely support this goal, 7% responded that they have no opinion on the subject, and only 15% responded that they do not believe in or support this goal.
The survey measured a negative peak of 71% among the entire sample who reported high trust in the IDF - a decrease of 6% compared to last month and of 11% since the first measurement last October.
In fact, a decrease of 111% was measured in those reporting trust in the Chief of Staff, with only 421% of the total sample expressing high trust in Chief of Staff Herzliya Halevi.
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An unusual statistic revealed by the survey on IDF recruitment - 321% of respondents responded that they would not encourage their son to enlist in combat service, on the other hand, 281% would encourage him to do so, and 121% would encourage the child not to enlist at all. 151% responded that they would leave the choice to the child, and 131% did not respond.
The survey asked what the level of trust is in the IDF spokesperson’s reports during the fighting in Gaza. The survey data shows that only 54% responded that their level of trust is high. 22% responded that their level of trust is moderate, and 19% responded that their level of trust in the IDF spokesperson’s reports is low. 5% responded that they do not know.
The latest Iron Swords Survey was conducted between July 18-21, 2024, led by the Data Collection and Analysis Desk at the Institute for National Security Studies.
The fieldwork was conducted by the Rafi Smith Institute, during which 600 men and women were interviewed online and by telephone in Hebrew and 200 in Arabic, constituting a representative sample of the adult Israeli population in Israel aged 18 and over. The maximum sampling error for the entire sample is ±3.5% at a confidence level of 95%.
