Jewish News-Survation poll: Most UK Jews view Israel’s new government with dread

The extent of concern among British Jews about the new Israeli government is laid bare today in the results of an exclusive Jewish News poll.

A survey of more than 700 people in the UK, commissioned by this newspaper, was conducted by Survation over three weeks last month, concluding amid news of the new government’s reform of Israeli’s judiciary, which has prompted hundreds of thousands of citizens to take to the streets in protest.

Pollsters asked a representative sample of the British Jewish community about their attitudes towards Israel and the country’s government, which for the first time now includes members of Israel’s far-right.

Three quarters of those surveyed said Israel was important to their identity and an even higher number said Jews living abroad were within their rights to criticise Israel’s government in public if the situation demanded.

• To what extent, if at all, would the inclusion of politicians in the Israeli government, deemed to be far right, impact your feelings toward Israel?

The younger the respondent, the less likely they were to consider Israel ‘very’ or ‘quite’ important to them, results show. From 82 percent of those aged 55 and over, that figure fell to 75 percent for those aged 35-54, then to 68 percent for the 18-34 age group.

Commensurately, openness to criticising Israel in public also varied according to age.

More than 85 percent of Jews aged 18-34 were happy to criticise Israel in public, but fewer than 70 percent of those aged 55 and above felt they would do so.

A little over half – 52 percent – said the inclusion of far-right Israeli ministers in power in Jerusalem ‘impacts’ their feelings towards Israel, but 58 percent said British Jewish leaders should still meet these politicians if called to do so.

This question highlighted another disparity in age: Jews aged 18-34 were almost twice as likely as older adults to advise Jewish community leaders against meeting Israeli far-right politicians. The figure was 38 percent of younger adults advising against such a meeting whereas among those aged 55+, only 20 percent would shun them.

• Israel plays an important part in my Jewish identity; It is acceptable for Jewish people who do not live in Israel to express concern publicly about the Israeli government or its policies (answers below by age group)

In another telling statistic, 70 percent of those polled said they thought Israelis did not care what diaspora Jews thought about Israel’s government or its policies. This was broadly true across age ranges, locations, and even religious denominations.

Data showed differences between the sexes, with 61 percent of female respondents citing Israel as ‘very’ or ‘quite’ important to them, compared with just 50 percent of men who said the same, yet men were five percent more likely to consider that Jews outside Israel can openly criticise the Israeli government.

Geography also appeared to play a role in some thinking, with Jewish respondents living in the north-west of England almost 12 percent less bothered about the Israeli government’s inclusion of far-right politicians than their kin in London.

A little over half – 52 percent – said the inclusion of far-right Israeli ministers in power in Jerusalem ‘impacts’ their feelings towards Israel, but 58 percent said British Jewish leaders should still meet these politicians if called to do so.

For the fifth consecutive week, tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated at multiple locations across Israel on Saturday night, braving the bad weather to protest against the judicial reform being advanced by the government.

On Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, mayor Ron Huldai told the 100,000-strong crowd: “We are determined to continue to fight for the state of Israel’s image. They’re trying to frame us as being out of touch instead of listening to our principled positions.”

In a direct warning to the government, he said: “If you take things to the extreme, you’re liable to produce extreme counter-reactions.”

In another telling statistic, 70 percent of those polled said they thought Israelis did not care what diaspora Jews thought about Israel’s government or its policies. This was broadly true across age ranges, locations, and even religious denominations.

His comments were backed up late last week by polling from the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), which showed 60 percent of Israelis believe that the judicial reforms will lead to violence on the streets if they are pushed through.

Elsewhere, Israel’s former police commissioner Roni Alsheich said the reforms “don’t contain a single element that is designed to correct”. He added: “They’re trying to remove all checks and balances today, at once. All the power is to be given to the executive branch without any constraints. Things that are illegal will become legal within days.”

President Isaac Herzog called on the government to “stop the whole process for a moment, take a deep breath, and allow dialogue”. He also called on the far-right to cease what he referred to as incitement and threats.