Publications

Key Findings:

A slight decline in public confidence in the IDF and in trust in the chief of staff

• A majority of the Israeli public (75%) expresses high confidence in the IDF, down slightly from 77% in July and from a peak of 83% in June during the war against Iran. Among the Jewish public, 87% expresses high confidence in the IDF, while among the Arab public, it is particularly low—only 29%.
• Trust in Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir stands at 60%, continuing a gradual decline from 62% in July and 69% in June. Among the Jewish public, 70% expresses high trust in him, compared to just 21% among the Arab public. The drop in trust is especially sharp among coalition voters, with a decline of about 10 percentage points in those expressing high trust in the chief of staff.
• A majority of the Israeli public (76%) expresses high confidence in the Air Force, compared to 71% in April before Operation Rising Lion against Iran, although it is lower than the 83% in June during the operation itself.
• Trust in the IDF spokesperson’s reports remains stable compared to July at 57%. Among the Jewish public, 65% expresses high trust in the spokesperson’s reports, versus only 22.5% in the Arab public. In particular, 56.5% of the Arab public claims having low confidence in the IDF spokesperson’s reports.

A modest recovery in trust in the prime minister

• Confidence in the Israeli government remains very low: Only 23% of the public expresses high confidence in the government—unchanged from July. Among the Jewish public, confidence stands at 28%, compared to just 6% among the Arab public. A vast majority of the Arab public at 93% expresses low or no confidence at all in the government.
• Trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has risen slightly: 30% of the Israeli public expresses high trust in him—a significant increase from 23% in July, and a return to the 30%–32% levels recorded during the operation in Iran in June. This rise stems almost entirely from increased confidence among coalition voters. Among the Jewish public, 36% expresses high trust in the prime minister, compared to only 6% among the Arab public.

Key Findings:

A growing gap between belief in an IDF victory in Gaza and belief that the war’s objectives can be achieved

• A majority of the Israeli public (66%) believes the IDF will win the war in Gaza—up 4 percentage points from July (62%). By contrast, this month there was a 3% drop in the share of those who believe the war’s objectives will be achieved. Only 49.5% of the public considers it fully or largely possible, while 32% thinks it is only slightly possible, and a further 13% believes the objectives will not be achieved at all.

Most of the public believes government actions are not advancing the return of the hostages

• A majority of the Israeli public (61%) thinks that only an agreement that includes ending the war can bring about the return of all the hostages. By contrast, 20% believes that all hostages can be returned through an agreement that does not end the war, and just 13% thinks they can be returned without any agreement.
• A majority of the Israeli public (65%) believes the cabinet’s decision on the fighting in Gaza does not bring the hostages closer to home: 43% says the decision advances none of the war’s objectives, and another 21.5% believes it advances only the collapse of Hamas rule. Only 22% thinks the decision promotes both war objectives, while 3.5% says it advances only the return of the hostages.

Distrust in the conduct of the campaign

• Most of the Israeli public believes there is no plan to end the war: 68% of the public says the government has no plan, while only 24% thinks otherwise.
• A majority of the Israeli public (54.5%) thinks the decision to extend the fighting in Gaza was not made primarily for security reasons, compared to 41% of the public who believes it was. Views on the cabinet’s considerations are politically polarized—76% of opposition voters believe the decision was not based on security considerations, versus 79% of coalition voters who think the opposite.
• The Israeli public is divided on whether there is effective cooperation between the political and military leadership in managing the war: 51% says there is no effective cooperation, compared to 42.5% who claims there is.

Key Findings:

• About a third of the Jewish public (32%) believes it is justified to refuse to participate in combat out of concern for the hostages’ safety—an increase of 4 percentage points compared to 28% in May. By contrast, 55% thinks it is not justified to refuse orders on these grounds, and another 13% responded “don’t know.”

Key Findings:

• The public expresses concern about possible international isolation of Israel: A majority of the Israeli public (66.5%) is worried about this possibility (31% very worried, 35.5% somewhat worried). Only 17% is not very worried, and 13.5% is not worried at all.

Key Findings:

• A majority of the Israeli public (67%) is concerned about the future of Israeli democracy (32% very concerned, 35% somewhat concerned). Only 19% is not very concerned, and 12% is not concerned at all.
• Only 30% of the Israeli public reports high or very high levels of personal security, 45% reports a medium level, and 24% reports low or very low levels.
• The majority of the Israeli public (67%) is optimistic about Israeli society’s ability to recover from the crisis and grow stronger, compared to 30% of the public who is pessimistic.