The Israeli public trusts the IDF more than any other state institution while political parties received the lowest level of public trust, according to a survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) last year and published on Sunday.
The survey found that most Israelis do not have trust in the government or the Knesset, but still trust in the Israel Police and the justice system. Most of them don’t believe they could influence the government or local municipalities’ policies, and a third felt discriminated against.
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The IDF received the highest level of support from the public—82 percent. There was no difference between men and women, with 83% of men putting their trust in the military and 82% of women. Meanwhile, Jews had greater trust (93%) in the IDF than Arabs (32%), while college graduates (88%) trusted in the IDF more than the rest of the population (79%).
Orthodox Jews expressed more support in the IDF than ultra-Orthodox Jews—97% compared to 72%, respectively. Among traditional Jews, 96% trust the IDF and 94% do among secularists.
It also appeared trust in the IDF increased along with one’s age: 52% of 20-44 year olds have great trust in the IDF, 63% of 45-64 year olds and 73% among those 65 and older.
Almost two-thirds of the public (60%) trust the State Comptroller, and here too the level of trust is higher among Jews (64%) than Arabs (41%).
Most of the public trust the justice system (58%), with once again a higher rate among Jews (60%) compared to Arabs (41%). Here too, the more observant one is, the less trust they had in the justice system: 22% of ultra-Orthodox, 46% of Orthodox, 61% of traditional Jews and 70% of secularists. The rate of respondents who said they “do not trust the justice system at all” among ultra-Orthodox was 47% compared to 18% of Orthodox and 7% of secularists.
Among new immigrants, the rate of trust in the justice system is smaller—53% among immigrants from the former Soviet Union (who came from 1990 onwards) and 43% among Ethiopian immigrants.
Meanwhile, over half of the public expressed trust in the CBS itself, with greater levels of trust among college graduates (62%) compared to those who aren’t (51%).
70% of Ethiopian immigrants don’t trust police
A little more than half of the public (53%) expressed their trust in the Israel Police. Jews (57%) were once again found to trust police more than Arabs (34%), and older people more than younger people. A high level of distrust of the police was found among Ethiopian immigrants, 70%, while immigrants from the former Soviet Union mostly do trust the police—60%, compared to 34% who don’t.
Most of the Israeli population expressed distrust in the government, with only 40% expressing trust in it. Jews (42%) expressed more trust than Arabs (28%), while the Orthodox and traditional Jews expressed the most trust in the government, 60%, compared to 29% of ultra-Orthodox and 32% of secularists. Thirty-nine percent of ultra-Orthodox and 32% of secularists said they “don’t trust the government at all, ” compared to 13% of Orthodox.
The Knesset received an even lower score, with only 38% of the public expressing trust in it, 40% among Jews and 25% among Arabs. When it comes to the individual political parties, only 22% of the public expressed trust in them, 24% among Jews and 15% among Arabs.
Trust in local municipalities was higher, with 61% of the population expressing trust in them. Among municipalities of over 100, 000 residents, Be’er Sheva enjoys the most trust (75%) from its residents, followed by Netanya and Rishon Lezion (73%), Tel Aviv (71%), Rehovot (69%), Holon (68%), Bat Yam and Ramat Gan (64%), Bnei Brak (63%), Haifa and Ashkelon (57%), Petah Tikva (55%), Ashdod (54%), and Jerusalem (40%). Among Jerusalem’s Jewish residents, 58% expressed trust in the municipality, while 36% said they did not trust it.
Trust in the media was also found to be low, with only 39% saying the trust the press. Young people found to be less trusting of the media than older citizens: 35% among 20-44 year olds, compared to 45% among 45 and older.
Most of the Israeli population (85%) said they did not believe they could influence the government’s policies, while 75% don’t believe they can influence their municipality’s policies.
Thirty-one percent felt discriminated against over the past year because of age, nationality, ethnicity (15% overall; 10% among Jews and 30% among non-Jews), religion (13% overall; 27% among Muslims, 19% among Christians, 20% among Druze, and 10% among Jews), gender, sexual orientation, or physical/mental disability.
Among Jews, the more religious they were, the more they felt discriminated against: 41% of ultra-Orthodox, 16% of Orthodox, 8% of traditional Jews and 5% of secularists.
