Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
As the “Iron Swords” War against Hamas terrorists in Gaza continues and tensions along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon grow, a new study shows that almost two-thirds of all Israelis support the idea of their country engaging in another war against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
Since the start of the war in Gaza last October Hezbollah has been indiscriminately launching rockets at Israeli cities. Israel’s military has responded to every launch with a strike against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. As a result, there has been speculation that a new wider war with Hezbollah could be coming.
According to a report from the Jewish People’s Policy Institute, 63% of Israelis polled are in favor of such a new conflict, despite increased criticism from the U.S. government over the continuation of the war in Gaza. The report was compiled before the latest criticisms of Israel’s leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were made by the U.S. Senate’s Majority Leader Charles Schumer who is Jewish. Schumer called on Netanyahu to step down or be replaced.
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The Institute found that “in light of the dispute between the Israeli government and the American administration” the majority of Israeli Jews (who expressed an opinion) believe that Israel should “do what it deems right,” even at the cost of disagreement with the U.S.
The report also found that a large majority of Israelis believe that President Joe Biden’s support for Israel has eroded compared to the beginning of the war and that the majority of the Israeli public supports either an immediate attack on Lebanon’s— border or once the war in Gaza ends.
There has also been a significant decrease of almost 20 % in the proportion of Israeli Jews expressing optimism (a lot or some) regarding the country’s future.
Israelis also want the ultra-orthodox among them to begin sharing the burden of military service. Over 80% of the Jewish public believes that the policy of granting yeshiva students exemption from IDF service should be “amended,” although there is disagreement over whether to do so through persuasion (36%) or coercion (45%), the Institute reported.
Also, 68% of Israeli Jews and 29% of Israeli Arabs support Arab conscription into the IDF or national service; most believe that this should be done “through persuasion” and 66% of Jews (and less than a fifth of Arabs) believe that the existing exemption for religiously observant women from military or national service should be eliminated.
The majority of Israeli Jews believe that “Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria create deterrence and contribute to the security of all Israeli citizens” and do not agree that the settlements are a “burden.”
Most disturbingly, the study found that a “significant majority” of Jews and the largest group among Arabs (38%) agree that “there is no chance of reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians in the foreseeable future.”
Slightly more than a quarter of Arabs (28%) and nearly a quarter of Jews (23%) agree that “if they had an opportunity to emigrate abroad” they would do so.
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) is a Jerusalem-based think & do Tank – an independent center of thought and planning for shaping strategy and action-oriented policy for the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
JPPI’s core objectives are to: safeguard the continuity and prospering of the Jewish people; reinforce and ensure the continued success of the State of Israel and Zionism; preserve and cultivate pluralistic Jewish identity as a culture, nationality and religion; and, bolster cohesion in Israel, among Diaspora Jews, and between Israel and the Diaspora.
The Jewish People Policy Institute was established by the Jewish Agency and enjoys complete professional independence. It operates under the guidance of an Executive Board of Directors headed by Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury and Under Secretary of State, and Ambassador Dennis Ross, who served as Barack Obama’s Middle East adviser and a special adviser to the National Security Council, as well as having held several senior positions in the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
