(Yossi Verter-Haaretz).Good news is a rare commodity in the Prime Minister's Bureau these days. So Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will undoubtedly be pleased with the results of a poll conducted earlier this week on the fallout of the flotilla affair.
The Haaretz-Dialog poll, under the supervision of Prof. Camil Fuchs of the department of statistics at Tel Aviv University, was conducted more than a week after the raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound ships by Israeli naval commandos that left nine dead.
Alongside a few critical comments about the government, the bottom line is unequivocal: The people stand with their leader.
Satisfaction with the prime minister's performance, which showed a decline recently, shot up in the new poll to above 50 percent. The public apparently buys Netanyahu's narrative, which seems to suggest that the world is hypocritical, that we are the only just people, and that whoever is not with him - with Netanyahu - is against Israel.
The maritime blockade of Gaza, whose efficiency has been questioned by many experts and ministers, has sweeping support, with 59 percent of respondents saying it does more good than harm.
Fully 57 percent of those polled said they trusted the ministerial forum of seven, which came under fire in the past week, and trust it even more now. Only 37 percent did not trust the forum of seven in the past and now, following the flotilla episode, trust it even less.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni, who criticized the government just days after the flotilla operation, was punished by the public for her ostensible lack of patriotism. In a poll two months ago, Livni had a slightly positive rating: 45 percent were satisfied with her performance, 43 percent were not. In the present poll, 50 percent say they are not satisfied, against 35 percent who say they are.
"We are no longer at war; there was an operation and it is over," Livni said this week. She was right, but also wrong. As far as the public goes, nothing is over. There is one piece of good news for Livni, however: Even when she pays the price of the public's wrath, her party, Kadima, hardly loses any seats in the poll, compared to its present strength in the Knesset.
Eighty percent of those polled say they think MK Hanin Zuabi (Balad ) should be punished in some way - the suggested punishments range from stripping her of Israeli citizenship to something more symbolic - for participating in the flotilla.
Of those polled, 41 percent said they are concerned that Israel is becoming an isolated state, while 52 percent thought it was not, despite international condemnation, and growing boycotts of Israeli goods abroad.
The public is conservative in its attitude toward the Gaza blockade, and a slight majority are against a commission of inquiry. Of the 44 percent who would like to see a investigative panel, 60 percent say foreign observers should participate.
Support for the government line translated into personal support for the prime minister and even for Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Since assuming his post, Lieberman has always had a sizable negative rating. Now, for the first time, there is a tie (44 percent ) between his supporters and his detractors.
The big winner in the public sweepstakes should have been Defense Minister Ehud Barak. But as compared with previous polls, support for Barak is down among voters who traditionally backed him - those in Labor and Kadima. In this poll, his only genuine fans are from the Likud.
Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu constitute the political-security top echelon. Why, then, does Netanyahu gain, while Barak is trashed? Maybe because the public has had its fill of him. Maybe because people don't like his beef with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who, despite his dominant role in the failed operation at sea, continues to enjoy sky-high ratings.
Barak's Labor Party would gain eight seats in an election, according to the new poll (five less than its current Knesset representation ), three more than its lost sister, Meretz.
The Haaretz-Dialog poll, under the supervision of Prof. Camil Fuchs of the department of statistics at Tel Aviv University, was conducted more than a week after the raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound ships by Israeli naval commandos that left nine dead.
Alongside a few critical comments about the government, the bottom line is unequivocal: The people stand with their leader.
Satisfaction with the prime minister's performance, which showed a decline recently, shot up in the new poll to above 50 percent. The public apparently buys Netanyahu's narrative, which seems to suggest that the world is hypocritical, that we are the only just people, and that whoever is not with him - with Netanyahu - is against Israel.
The maritime blockade of Gaza, whose efficiency has been questioned by many experts and ministers, has sweeping support, with 59 percent of respondents saying it does more good than harm.
Fully 57 percent of those polled said they trusted the ministerial forum of seven, which came under fire in the past week, and trust it even more now. Only 37 percent did not trust the forum of seven in the past and now, following the flotilla episode, trust it even less.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni, who criticized the government just days after the flotilla operation, was punished by the public for her ostensible lack of patriotism. In a poll two months ago, Livni had a slightly positive rating: 45 percent were satisfied with her performance, 43 percent were not. In the present poll, 50 percent say they are not satisfied, against 35 percent who say they are.
"We are no longer at war; there was an operation and it is over," Livni said this week. She was right, but also wrong. As far as the public goes, nothing is over. There is one piece of good news for Livni, however: Even when she pays the price of the public's wrath, her party, Kadima, hardly loses any seats in the poll, compared to its present strength in the Knesset.
Eighty percent of those polled say they think MK Hanin Zuabi (Balad ) should be punished in some way - the suggested punishments range from stripping her of Israeli citizenship to something more symbolic - for participating in the flotilla.
Of those polled, 41 percent said they are concerned that Israel is becoming an isolated state, while 52 percent thought it was not, despite international condemnation, and growing boycotts of Israeli goods abroad.
The public is conservative in its attitude toward the Gaza blockade, and a slight majority are against a commission of inquiry. Of the 44 percent who would like to see a investigative panel, 60 percent say foreign observers should participate.
Support for the government line translated into personal support for the prime minister and even for Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Since assuming his post, Lieberman has always had a sizable negative rating. Now, for the first time, there is a tie (44 percent ) between his supporters and his detractors.
The big winner in the public sweepstakes should have been Defense Minister Ehud Barak. But as compared with previous polls, support for Barak is down among voters who traditionally backed him - those in Labor and Kadima. In this poll, his only genuine fans are from the Likud.
Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu constitute the political-security top echelon. Why, then, does Netanyahu gain, while Barak is trashed? Maybe because the public has had its fill of him. Maybe because people don't like his beef with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who, despite his dominant role in the failed operation at sea, continues to enjoy sky-high ratings.
Barak's Labor Party would gain eight seats in an election, according to the new poll (five less than its current Knesset representation ), three more than its lost sister, Meretz.
