Israeli Jews Shift Rightward After Oct. 7

The nine months since the Oct. 7 attack have led to an increase in Israeli Jews identifying with the right and a corresponding decrease in those affiliating with the left, a Hebrew University survey finds.

Agam Labs, a research institute led by political psychologist Nimrod Nir, polled a representative sample of 4,000 adults in August and then from Oct. 9 until May 2024 at the rate of around every 10 days.

Before the Hamas-led massacre and war in Gaza, around 58% of respondents defined themselves as right-wing. By May, 60% were on the right.

In contrast, in August of last year, 17% were left-wing while in May of this year that figure was 13%. Twenty-five percent of Israeli Jews identified as centrist in August compared to around 27% in May.

That represents more than 160,000 of Israel’s some 7 million Jews leaving the left and more than 110,000 joining the right.

“Oct. 7 caused a complete collapse of the old Israeli left,” Nir told the Washington Free Beacon.

“Until a few years ago, I could find out which political camp you were in by asking you one question: Palestinian state, yes or no? Today, that question doesn’t really differentiate the two camps because no one supports the old idea of a Palestinian state.

“There isn’t even a majority for a Palestinian state among liberal voters anymore. It’s just not on the table,” Nir said.

The margin of error for each round of polling was around 4%.