Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition dropped four mandates while the opposition has gained three, according to a new Maariv poll released on Friday.
Minister-without-portfolio Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party gained one mandate, and for the first time in a while, the Labor Party has crossed the electoral threshold with 3.6%, which yields four mandates.
As such, the coalition has dropped three mandates to 47, while the opposition gained three mandates and now has a total of 64, according to latest figures.
A different poll conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute showed that about 33% of Jews in Israel are not convinced that Israel is the place where their children or grandchildren should live.
Israeli public Confidence decline
The institute identified a significant decrease in the sense of optimism of the Israeli public, both in relation to the state and in the personal sphere, accompanied by a decrease in confidence in Israel’s victory in the war.
The percentage of Jews who are very optimistic about the future of the State of Israel dropped from 48% in the previous index, conducted at the end of March, to 37%.
The survey also shows that 70% of the public has a low level of trust in the government. Trust in IDF commanders also dropped significantly from 75% in March to 59% in May. A large majority, 70% of the public, believes that following the resignation of Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva, head of the Intelligence Unit, the IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi should also resign from his position.
“Unfortunately, the pessimistic findings reflect a reasonable reading of reality by the Israeli public,” assessed Prof. Yedidia Stern, president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, who warned: “In the last year and a half, cracks have appeared in the cohesion of Israeli society, in the sense of personal security, in the alliance with the United States and in the relationship to Jews around the world, and the Israelis are worried.”
