JPPI Israeli Society Index

JPPI Israeli Society Index July 2024: Israelis exhibit dramatic decline in public trust in IDF leadership

The latest Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) Israeli Society Index for July 2024 indicates a significant drop in public trust in the top command of the IDF, alongside increasing concern over the security situation.

For the first time since the war’s outbreak, a majority of the public (55%) are expressing a lack of confidence in the top IDF leadership. This decline is particularly sharp among those on the political right, where eight in ten express distrust in the senior command. By contrast, among Jewish Israelis identifying as centrist, two out of every three have high or very high confidence in the senior IDF leadership.

At the same time, confidence in the government and the prime minister remains very low: only 26% express confidence in the government compared to 73% who indicate low or very low trust. Confidence in Prime Minister Netanyahu has remained consistently low throughout the nine-month crisis, with only 27% of respondents in July saying their confident in Benjamin Netanyahu remained high or somewhat high, compared to 71% who reported low or very low trust.

On the issue of the upcoming US presidential election – before the assassination attempt this past weekend – the July Index found that a majority of the Israeli public prefers Donald Trump over Joe Biden as the next US president. Among Jewish Israelis, 51% prefer Trump compared to 35% for Biden, with 14% undecided.

Regarding the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, a significant majority of Jewish Israelis (63%) support the Supreme Court decision mandating Haredi youth conscription into the IDF, compared to 31% who oppose it. Support is particularly high among secular (82%) and traditionalist (62%) Jews, but significantly lower among religious (38%) and ultra-Orthodox Jews (12%). Overall, among the Haredi public, there is strong opposition to conscription with 82% opposing the Supreme Court ruling.

Regarding tensions on the northern border, there has been a slight decline in support for an Israeli attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon, from 62% in March to 56% in July among the Jewish Israelis. Among them, 35% support an immediate attack, and 21% support an attack after the Gaza operation. In parallel, there has been a small increase in support for a diplomatic solution, from 34% to 37%. Among Arab Israelis, 67% support a diplomatic settlement. There are also significant differences among voters of different political parties: 45% of Likud voters and 60% of Shas and Religious Zionist voters support an immediate attack, while most center-left voters prefer a diplomatic solution.

Professor Yedidia Stern, President of the Jewish People Policy Institute: “The findings indicate a deep crisis of trust between the public and the security and political leadership. This is a significant challenge at any time, but particularly crucial during a crisis. Renewed trust is needed between the leadership and the public to enhance national resilience against challenges ahead. The way to achieve this is through holding general elections.”

The survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute for July was conducted among a representative sample of 816 respondents (616 Jews and 200 Arabs).