PM Benjamin Netanyahu at Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer GPO
A recent poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) revealed bad news for Benjamin Netanyahu. It also determined that nearly 50% of Israelis believe it is unlikely that U.S. President Donald Trump would distance himself from Israel, even if its policies conflict with U.S. interests. In contrast, close to 40% think there is a fairly high or high chance that Trump could shift his stance under such circumstances.
More significantly, in the total sample, the largest share of respondents (48%) think that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should accept responsibility for the failure to prevent or even expect the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and resign immediately. Another 25% say that he should accept responsibility but resign only after the end of the war; 14.5% think that he should accept responsibility but not resign; and 10%, that he should neither accept responsibility nor resign. In other words, a clear majority are in favor of the prime minister resigning either now or after the war (72.5%), and fully 87% think that he should accept responsibility for October 7, whether or not he resigns.
The survey also highlights strong public backing for the ongoing hostage agreement negotiations. An overwhelming 73% of respondents support proceeding with the second stage of the deal to secure the release of all hostages.
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These findings underscore the Israeli public’s confidence in Trump’s commitment to Israel, as well as widespread consensus on prioritizing efforts to bring hostages home.
The survey was conducted by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute between February 25–28, 2025. It was based on a representative sample of the population in Israel aged 18 and above, comprising 605 Jewish interviewees and 154 Arab interviewees.
IDI found that among Israel’s Jewish population the Left has the lowest proportion of optimists about the future of Israel’s economy (17%), while the Center has a slightly larger share (25%), and the Right, the largest share (45%). This is also the same order found when asking questions about the future of democratic rule and the future of national security in the country.
In addition, a breakdown by political orientation among Jews revealed that the Left has the lowest proportion of optimists about social cohesion (14%), compared to 23% in the Center and 40% on the Right.
The last general election was held in Israel in November, 2022. This means that Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government can remain in office at least until the end of 2026. With poll numbers like these, it is more than likely that Netanyahu will do whatever he can to keep his coalition together for as long as possible in hopes of rehabilitating himself in the eyes of the Israeli public.
