Israelis: Gov’t improved ties with US, Arab states, not Palestinians – poll

The Israeli public believes that Israel’s relations with the US, Europe and Arab countries improved under the current government, while ties with the Palestinians worsened, according to a poll by the left-leaning think tank Mitvim - the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies.

Asked whether the outgoing government succeeded or failed in advancing relations with the US, 77% of respondents said it succeeded, while only 12% said it failed. When it came to relations with the Palestinians, however, those numbers were nearly reversed, with 65% saying the government failed to advance those ties, while 17% said it succeeded.

According to the poll, nearly half of the population - 47% and 46% - believe the government succeeded in advancing Israel’s ties with Europe and Arab countries, as opposed to 33% and 35% who felt the government failed to advance those ties.

The poll also found that 34% of the population believe to some extent – small, moderate or to a large degree – that the status of the Foreign Ministry has declined, and that this is harming Israel’s national security, while 26% feel that the foreign Ministry’s position has not declined.

Regarding whom the public would like to see as foreign minister, 12% said Yair Lapid, 9% Benjamin Netanyahu, and only 3% would like to see current Foreign Minister Israel Katz in that job. 40% had no opinion.

The poll was carried out in August 2019 by the Rafi Smith Institute and in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, among a representative sample of Israel’s adult population (700 men and women, Jews and Arabs) and with a margin of error of 3.5%.