Israelis are slightly more worried about their economic futures under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, but also a bit more optimistic about Israel's ability to overcome the crisis, a survey by the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute found. IDI plans to continue tracking the mood of the country as the crisis progresses.
When asked "to what extent do you fear or not fear for your economic well-being in the foreseeable future?", 67.6 percent of respondents said they "greatly fear" or "moderately fear", compared to 64.5% a few days earlier.
However, when asked "Are you optimistic or pessimistic about Israel society's ability to overcome the current crisis?", 69.6% said they were very optimistic or somewhat optimistic, compared to 66.9% earlier in the week.
Dr. Or Anabi, a researcher at the Guttmann center at the Israel Democracy Institute, said the most significant finding of the first two surveys was that there wasn't so much of a change. Over time, the numbers are expected to fluctuate more.
Trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the crisis rose by nearly three percentage points, with 57.4% saying they have either a "great deal" or "fair bit" of trust in his leadership.
On the question, "to what extent does the Israeli public adhere to the ministry of health coronavirus guidelines?", 46% percent said they thought that society was adhering to a "very great" or "great" extent, with 39.8% saying it adheres to a moderate extent. Anabi noted that it was interesting that the ultra-Orthodox sector of society had the highest perception that the public is adhering to the guidelines.
The ongoing study surveys randomized groups of 612 Jewish Israelis and 151 Arab Israelis twice a week.