The rift in the fabric of Israeli society is growing, the Israeli Democracy Index, shows. The 2020 index, a public opinion poll project by the Israel Democracy Institute.
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Now in its 18th year, the poll, originally taken in June, was held again in October to account for what the IDI called the far-reaching effects of the coronavirus crisis on Israeli society.
The index, the summary of which was presented to President Reuven Rivlin on Monday, gauged the relationship between ultra-Orthodox and secular sectors, between Jews and Arabs, between the public and the government, and between the public and the police in the context of the global crisis.
The troubling finds show a decline in each of these parameters since the original poll was held six months ago.
The data found that only 17% of the public believe social solidarity still exists in Israel – a significant decrease from June, when the figure stood at an already worrisome 33%.
October's data is the lowest for this criterion in a decade.
Only 32% of Israelis currently think the economy is doing well, compared to 37% in June and 50% in 2019. Some 64% think Israel is a good place to live in – a drop from 76% who said as much in June.
Some 61% said their current situation was "good" compared to 80% in June.
Over half of the public – 57% - worry that Israeli democracy faces a significant threat, compared to 53% who were concerned in June.
Sixty percent of Jewish respondents said the government showed democratic practices vis-à-vis the Arab sector, while 58% of Arab respondents disagreed with that claim.
The index further showed that public confidence in state institutions was shaken over the coronavirus crisis.
The IDF still ranked top for Israelis, with 81% saying that as of October, they had full faith in its ability – a drop from 90% in 2019.
This is the lowest figure pertaining to the IDF since 2008.
Some 56% of Israelis said they had faith in the presidency – a drop from 71% in 2019 and 63% in June.
Only 42% have faith in the workings of the High Court of Justice, down from 52% in June; confidence in the police dropped to 41%, followed by the public's faith in the media (32%), the government (25%), the Knesset (21%) and political parties, the confidence in which has sunk to 14%.
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