(Ynet).Despite the financial crisis and the looming threat from Iran, the War and Peace Index, published on Israel's 61st Independence Day, found that the majority of the Israeli public is positive, optimistic and satisfied with the state of the nation.
The survey found that 80% of the Jews polled defined their personal status as "very good" or "good," 90% said they think Israel is doing "very well" as a nation; and 81% said they were "very optimistic" or "optimistic" as to the nation's future.
Some 81% also said that given their choice of countries to live in, they would prefer to stay in Israel.
Among the Israeli Arabs polled, 51% said their personal status was "very good," as opposed to 36% that described it as "bad" or "very bad." Two-thirds said that the nation's achievements are "good" or "fairly good," and a similar percentage expressed optimism as to the nation's future. An overwhelming majority – 94% – said they want to keep living in Israel.
Eighty-one percent of the Israelis surveyed said the State faired best in the fields of military and security, defining its accomplishments in those avenues as "very good."
The War and Peace Index also found that 71% of Israelis think that people are not as patriotic as they use to be in the past. Other figures indicated that 59% think that Israel has been able to create a stable, modern economy and 53% think it has become a successful democracy.
