Israelis believe that IDF protests endanger Israel - poll

Researchers polled a total of 516 respondents who constitute a representative sample of the adult population of Israel. 

 IDF artillery reservists at a protest in front of the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. (photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)
IDF artillery reservists at a protest in front of the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv.
(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

More than half of Israelis believe that the IDF reservists' protest weakens the IDF overall and therefore endangers the State of Israel, according to a new survey from Maariv conducted by the Lazar Research Institute released on Friday.

Researchers polled a total of 516 respondents who constitute a representative sample of the adult population of Israel. 

When answering the question, "Do you agree or disagree with the claim that the protest weakens the IDF and endangers the state of Israel?" 53% agreed, 39% disagreed, and 8% of respondents answered conclusively.

What if Israeli elections were held today?

When accounting for voting habits, the survey determined that this belief was held by 67% of respondents who voted for coalition parties and only 38% of opposition party voters. 

The survey also showed that the recent trend of the Likud rising in popularity over the National Unity Party is returning to the state it was in before the rise. If the elections were held today, the survey estimates that the opposition parties (including Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am) would garner a total of 66 seats versus the coalition's projected 54. 

 National Unity leader MK Benny Gantz is seen at a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, Israel, on June 19, 2023. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
National Unity leader MK Benny Gantz is seen at a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, Israel, on June 19, 2023. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

The full breakdown between parties was:

  • Likud- 28 seats
  • National Unity - 26 seats
  • Yesh Atid - 18 seats
  • Shas - 9 seats
  • United Torah Judaism - 7 seats
  • Hadash-Ta'al - 6 seats
  • Yisrael Beteinu - 6 seats
  • Religious Zionist Party - 5 seats
  • Ra'am - 5 seats
  • Otzma Yehudit - 5 seats
  • Meretz - 5 seats 

Labor and Balad did not meet the mandate threshold with only 1.8% and 1.9% of the votes, respectively.