Approximately two years after the outbreak of the Swords of Iron war, a special survey conducted by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) reveals a complex picture. A majority of the Jewish Israeli public reports that their trust in the IDF remains the same (51%) or has increased (19%), while about a third (28%) say their trust has declined.

By contrast, trust in the government has eroded sharply: 61% of Israeli Jews report that their trust in the government has decreased, compared to 38% who report that it remains stable or has increased (25% and 13%, respectively).

Assessment of Israel’s security situation is divided. Some 43% of the Israeli public believes that Israel’s situation has improved since October 7, compared to 42.5% of Israelis who think that the situation has worsened. Two years into the war, the majority of Israelis (51%) still fear that an event like October 7 could happen again along the Gaza border. Regarding the IDF’s preparedness to defend settlements from attack in the coming years, a majority of the Israeli public believes that the IDF is well or very well prepared to defend the northern (53.5%) and southern (57%) settlements but is skeptical about the IDF’s ability to protect settlements in Judea and Samaria (39%). Finally, the survey findings indicate that most of the Jewish public (53%) believe that the government’s decisions during the war were based to a low or very low extent on security considerations alone.