Poll: 70% think PM victim of major incitement

About a third of Israelis blamed rightwing political leadership for incitement

Close to half of all Israelis think a political murder could happen again, according to an Israel Democracy Institute ( IDI) poll taken ahead of the 25th anniversary of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination on November 4, 1995.

Asked the what are the chances of another political assassination taking place in Israel, 45% answered yes at some level of certainty, while 37% said no.

Those who self- described as left- wing or centrist were more likely to be concerned about a possible assassination, at 65% and 50% respectively, than right- wing respondents, 41% of whom thought one was likely.

Over two- thirds ( 70%) of Israelis thought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is subject to incitement to a major extent, and a majority of Israelis of all political affiliations agreed with that statement, with 84% of the Right, 65% of the Center and 52% of the Left saying he is a target to a “considerable” or “very large” extent.

Far fewer Israelis ( 46%) saw Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz as a target of incitement. A small minority of centrists ( 54%) and leftists ( 53%) said he was.

Many groups in Israeli society view themselves as targets of incitement, including 70% of Arabs, 81% of haredim, 86% of those on the political Left and 67% of the political Right.

About a third ( 31.3%) of Israelis blamed right- wing political leadership for incitement, and another 31% blamed the media. Only 13.5% said the political leaders on the Left are responsible, and 3.7% blamed civil society organizations. The Right is more likely to blame the media ( 46%) and the political leadership on the Left ( 21%). On the Left, 74% blame the leadership on the Right and 9% blame the media.

Most Israelis ( 59%) thought legal authorities handle incitement somewhat or very poorly.

The vast majority ( 80%) of Jewish Israelis polled said they believe democracy is an essential component of Zionism, as the national movement supporting a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. A majority of respondents in every sector supported the statement: 84% of secular Israelis, 81% of traditional Israelis, 76% of religious- traditional, 78% of nationalreligious and 69% of haredim.

Asked if Rabin’s murder symbolizes the start of the erosion of Israeli democracy, 47% agreed somewhat or very much, while 38% disagreed to some extent.

IDI’s Guttman Center for the Public Opinion and Policy Research and the Smith Institute conducted the poll online and on the phone on September 14- 15 among a representative sample of Israeli adults from the Jewish and Arab populations. The margin of error is 4.03%.