Israeli society is growing increasingly polarized, a study by the Pnima Movement the findings of which were released this week, show.
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Established in 2015 by public figures from across the social sphere, Pnima's mission statement assets it seeks to "address the rifts and polarization in Israeli society. … The lack of cohesion and deepening social rifts constitute a real threat to Israel's resilience. This lack of social cohesion has a tremendous impact both on the quality of life of Israeli citizens and on society's ability to cope with the challenges it is facing.
"Political instability, a decline of trust in institutions and among different communities, low civic participation and wasted national resources are just some of the outcomes of the current situation," the NGO says on its website.
As part of its research, Pnima published an annual "Hate Index" and the 2022 index found that Israelis indeed love to hate.
The index, conducted by the Direct Polls survey institute, found that 51% of Israelis hate MKs but 81% are willing to see their elected officials compromise their principles for national unity. The latter figure represents 98% of Yesh Atid and Blue and White voters, and 64% of Likud and Joint Arab List voters.
Some 34% of Israelis hate journalists; 34% hate the judges; 20% hate mayors and local authorities, and 17% hate the police.
The survey found that 62% of Israelis believe the media is to blame for the polarization in society, 31% blame social media, and 24% think law enforcement and the courts are the one responsible for social rifts.
Israelis are also increasingly intolerant: 40% hate Arabs, 20% hate the ultra-Orthodox; 17% hate settlers, and 13% has the LGBTQ community.
Some 64% believe that the rift between Mizrahim and Ashkenazim still exit; 33% of Israelis tend to hate immigrants from the former Soviet Union; 30% hate Mizrahim; 26% hate Ashkenazim, and 11% hate Ethiopians.
As for how the prolonged political crisis is affecting Israeli families whose members differ in their political opinions, the index shows that 57% of Israelis have no political discord with their immediate family. Some 40% of Israelis said that political differences exist in their family but have little-to-no impact on relationships, and only 3% said the issue has had an adverse effect on their family life.
Pnima head and former education minister Rabbi Shai Piron told Israel Hayom that he believes that ideological differences are actually a good thing.
"The more of an ideologue you are and the stronger your backbone, the less you need to build your identity by negating others," he said.
