Israel Public Opinion Update

Monday, 15 June 2009
http://keevoon.co.il

For the past four years the B'nai B'rith World Center in Jerusalem has
conducted an annual Survey of Contemporary Israeli Attitudes Toward World
Jewry. It has become the definitive poll which measures Israeli opinions
toward Diaspora Jewry and sets policy discussions for the following year.

The survey was conducted in conjunction with the B'nai B'rith World Center
Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage that will
be presented on Wednesday, June 17 at the Begin Heritage Center.

What follows are the results of our survey.

Survey Reveals 60% of Israelis Support their Tax Money being used to Provide
Basic Services to Jewish Communities in Current Economic Crisis
54% Believe Reform and Conservative Streams and their Rabbis Should Receive
Equal Funding
Only 23% of Israelis Believe That American Jewish Organizations are Doing
Enough to Bridge the Tension Between US and Israel

In an expression of strong support for Diaspora Jewry, nearly 60% of
Israelis supported the notion that their tax money be used to provide basic
services like education, healthcare and food to Diaspora Jewish communities
that are struggling in light of the recent global economic situation. 36% of
those polled were against it. Among the youngest age bracket polled -
18-24 - support stood at a staggering 73%. Ichud Leumi (National Union),
SHAS and Likud voters also expressed very strong support at 70% while Kadima
and Meretz voters expressed much less support at 49% and 37% respectively.

54% of those polled said they support that the Reform and Conservative
streams and their Rabbis should receive equal status and funding in Israel
to Orthodox streams and their rabbis. Only 36% expressed opposition to this
proposition.

In addition, 44% support the State of Israel recognizing Reform and
Conservative conversion while 49% insist that only conversions performed by
the Chief Rabbinate should be recognized by the State.

When asked "Recently there have been attempts to define as "Jewish" someone
with a Jewish father but not necessarily a Jewish mother as has been the
tradition". 57% chose "A Jew is someone whose mother is Jewish" while only
39% believe that "A Jew is someone whose mother OR father is Jewish."

46% of the Jewish population in Israel believes that American Jewish
organizations are not doing enough to bridge policy differences and ease the
tensions between the Obama Administration and the Netanyahu government. Only
23% say the organizations are doing enough on this front.

The survey found that 57% of adult Israeli Jews believe that American
organizations that lobby the US Government in support of pro-Israel policies
should always support the policies of the current Israeli government while
32% agreed that such organizations are free to openly oppose the policies of
the current Israeli government.

Nearly half of the adult Jewish population of Israel believes that the
Minister for the Diaspora and Hasbara should represent Israel to Diaspora
Jews, while only 25% said that he should primarily represent the Diaspora to
Israelis.

When asked whether Diaspora Jewry should consider the opinions of Israelis
when deciding issues like who to vote for or which policies impacting
Israel's future to support or oppose, 53% answered "yes." But, only 40%
believe that Israelis should consider the opinions of Diaspora Jewry when
deciding issues like who to vote for or which policies impacting Israel's
future to support or oppose.

World Center Director Alan Schneider noted, "Attitudes of Israelis towards
the Jewish Diaspora are in constant flux and are impacted by events taking
place in both communities which this year is punctuated by reports in the
media of a crisis in Israel-US relations due to policy differences and
issues pertaining to conversion and the status of non-Orthodox streams of
Judaism. Our survey revealed that the Israeli-Diaspora relationship is very
important to Israelis. The concern shown by Israelis for the well-being of
the Diaspora and their consideration for the opinions voiced by Diaspora
Jewry is unique."

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Poll Methodology

500 Jewish Israelis
Over 18 years old
Representative sample
4.5% margin of error
9-11 June 2009
Telephone survey

The B'nai B'rith World Center (est.1980) is the permanent and official
presence of B'nai B'rith International in Jerusalem and serves as its public
affairs arm in Israel. B'nai B'rith International (est. 1843) is the world's
oldest and largest Jewish organization.

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