(via IMRA).The last few weeks have been marked by tensions between Israel and many countries of the world, some of them hostile for years and some more or less friendly. This is indeed because of the flotilla incident in particular, but also part of a wider context of growing criticism of Israel's policy regarding the occupation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The campaign in the sphere of international public opinion, together with the domestic criticism of the functioning of the country's decision-makers, sparked an upsurge in indicators of patriotism, the superficial impression being that the Jewish public is united in perceiving that "the whole world is against us." The present survey looks into this phenomenon.
The conclusion is that, while most of the Jewish public indeed supports a tough policy toward the Palestinians, not inconsiderable parts of it are aware-more than appears at first glance-of a connection between Israel's behavior and its deteriorating image in international public opinion.
We asked: "Some claim that despite the international criticism, Israel should continue the blockade of Gaza and only allow the entry of the most essential items so as to keep the pressure on Hamas and prevent attacks from there on Israel. Others claim that the price Israel is paying for the blockade in world public opinion is higher than the risks of removing it. With which opinion do you agree more?"
A sweeping majority of the Jewish public-78%-sided with the first claim, voiced repeatedly in the past by decisionmakers, that the blockade should be continued so as to pressure Hamas and prevent attacks. Only a minority-17%-thought the price in terms of international public opinion was too high (note that the survey was done
before Prime Minister Netanyahu's announcement on canceling the limitations Israel had imposed in the past on the entry of goods into Gaza). In the Arab public the picture is indeed the reverse: only a minority- 23%-agreed with the first, security-oriented claim, while the overwhelming majority- 71%-agreed that the price of the blockade for Israel's international image is too steep.
A segmentation of the answers by degree of belief or lack of belief in the possibility that negotiations with the Palestinian Authority will ultimately lead to peace, revealed that in both groups, the believers and the nonbelievers, a majority favors continuing the blockade of Gaza, but at different rates: 62% of the believers in the possibility of peace as an outcome of negotiations versus 83% of those who do not believe in this. A segmentation of the answers to this question by self-ranking as secular, traditional, religious, or haredi found that here, too, in all the groups a majority favored the first view. The majority grows, however, in direct
connection to degree of religiosity: 70% of the secular, 81% of the traditional, 90% of the religious, and 93.5% of the haredi.
In addition, we asked: "Recently Israel's status in the international community has fallen, and more and more voices even question its right to exist. Do you think there is or is not a connection between this trend and the policy of the current Israeli government?"
Here the picture is more balanced-that is, the Jewish public is split down the middle. Whereas 48% see no connection between Israel's policy and its declining international status, the exact same rate of 48% consider that there is some connection, or even a strong one, between the trend in world public opinion and Israel's policy. The picture in the Arab sector is more clear-cut: only 30% see no connection while 69% see some, or a strong, connection between Israel's policy and its international status.
The campaign in the sphere of international public opinion, together with the domestic criticism of the functioning of the country's decision-makers, sparked an upsurge in indicators of patriotism, the superficial impression being that the Jewish public is united in perceiving that "the whole world is against us." The present survey looks into this phenomenon.
The conclusion is that, while most of the Jewish public indeed supports a tough policy toward the Palestinians, not inconsiderable parts of it are aware-more than appears at first glance-of a connection between Israel's behavior and its deteriorating image in international public opinion.
We asked: "Some claim that despite the international criticism, Israel should continue the blockade of Gaza and only allow the entry of the most essential items so as to keep the pressure on Hamas and prevent attacks from there on Israel. Others claim that the price Israel is paying for the blockade in world public opinion is higher than the risks of removing it. With which opinion do you agree more?"
A sweeping majority of the Jewish public-78%-sided with the first claim, voiced repeatedly in the past by decisionmakers, that the blockade should be continued so as to pressure Hamas and prevent attacks. Only a minority-17%-thought the price in terms of international public opinion was too high (note that the survey was done
before Prime Minister Netanyahu's announcement on canceling the limitations Israel had imposed in the past on the entry of goods into Gaza). In the Arab public the picture is indeed the reverse: only a minority- 23%-agreed with the first, security-oriented claim, while the overwhelming majority- 71%-agreed that the price of the blockade for Israel's international image is too steep.
A segmentation of the answers by degree of belief or lack of belief in the possibility that negotiations with the Palestinian Authority will ultimately lead to peace, revealed that in both groups, the believers and the nonbelievers, a majority favors continuing the blockade of Gaza, but at different rates: 62% of the believers in the possibility of peace as an outcome of negotiations versus 83% of those who do not believe in this. A segmentation of the answers to this question by self-ranking as secular, traditional, religious, or haredi found that here, too, in all the groups a majority favored the first view. The majority grows, however, in direct
connection to degree of religiosity: 70% of the secular, 81% of the traditional, 90% of the religious, and 93.5% of the haredi.
In addition, we asked: "Recently Israel's status in the international community has fallen, and more and more voices even question its right to exist. Do you think there is or is not a connection between this trend and the policy of the current Israeli government?"
Here the picture is more balanced-that is, the Jewish public is split down the middle. Whereas 48% see no connection between Israel's policy and its declining international status, the exact same rate of 48% consider that there is some connection, or even a strong one, between the trend in world public opinion and Israel's policy. The picture in the Arab sector is more clear-cut: only 30% see no connection while 69% see some, or a strong, connection between Israel's policy and its international status.