(JNi.media) October’s “peace index survey,” conducted by The Israel Democracy Institute focused on the ongoing wave of terror attacks and how they are affecting the feelings and behaviors of the Israeli public. Overall, the study found the Jewish public tense but not hysterical.
A majority of the Jewish public (57%) fear that they or someone important to them would be harmed in the wave of attacks. Still, 64% report that they have not changed their daily habits—taking public transportation or shopping routines—due to the security situation.
In contrast, the Arab public is very frightened. Some 78% answered that they are worried about being harmed and 53% reported changing their daily habits.
Jewish Israelis and Arab Israelis do not agree on how to punish those who carry out attacks, based on ethnicity.
Destroying Homes: a full 80% of Jewish Israelis believe Palestinian homes should be raised if the home owner or a family member carries out an attack, but only 53% agree that a Jewish Israeli’s home should be raised if the home owner or a family member carries out an attack. About 77% of Arab Israelis disagree that Palestinian homes should be raised; 67% oppose demolishing Jewish homes.
Level of Punishment: 70% of Jews feel the punishments Israeli courts hand down to terrorists are too light. 60% of Arab Israelis feel the punishments are too heavy.
53% of Jewish Israelis agreed with the statement that “any Palestinian who has perpetrated a terror attack against Jews should be killed on the spot.”
When asked what grade each of the following institutions should be given for how they have dealt with the current terror wave, the survey found:
IDF: 93% of the Jewish public gave the IDF grades of very good or moderately good. Only 31.3% of Arab Israelis gave the IDF a good ranking.
Police: 84.5% Jews graded the police very good or moderately good. Some 27.7% of Arab Israelis gave the police a good grade.
The Shin Bet General Security Service: 71% of Jewish Israelis ranked the Shin Bet as good, but only 15.3% of Arab Israelis did.
The Israeli Government: Some 55.3% of Israeli Jews and 57.2% of Israeli Arabs graded the Israeli government as handling the situation “moderately poor” or “very poor.”
As to the Temple Mount, on Jewish prayer, 58% of Jewish respondents believe that in the current state of affairs, Jews should not be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy on this issue does not get much support. When asked, “Is Netanyahu’s policy toward the conflict with the Arab world over the question of prayer on the Temple Mount good or poor from Israel’s standpoint?” 49% of Jewish Israelis and 65.5% of Arab Israelis responded that it is very poor or moderately poor.
The survey was conducted by telephone on October 28-29, 2015. The survey included 600 adult respondents, who constitute a representative national sample. The margin of error is ±4.1% at a confidence level of 95%.