Israel Matzav

Some Israeli Jews start to get a clue

Haaretz has some interesting poll results today under the guise of the so-called 'Peace Index.' Lots of Jews aren't feeling very peaceful these days. In fact, 42% of them would like to see the IDF 'reoccupy' the Gaza Strip to keep the Kassams from being shot. But there's more to this poll:

The survey, carried out from May 28-30, showed that 48 percent oppose such a move. Sixty-three percent (vs. 28 percent), however, support a limited ground operation after which IDF forces would withdraw. The public is almost evenly divided between 47 percent who support holding direct negotiations with Hamas on stopping the rocket fire on Sderot, and 48 percent who oppose such negotiations.

The poll determined that only 37 percent of the Jewish public is currently convinced by Olmert's claim that there is no immediate and total way to stop the Qassam fire; 53.5 percent think he is mistaken. Indeed, 46 percent ascribe the leadership's avoidance of launching a military operation in Gaza to the conclusions of the Winograd Committee's interim report (vs. 39 percent who do not believe this is the reason).

...

Interestingly, while a clear majority of the public thinks the government should invest more in reinforcing homes and public institutions in Sderot and its environs, only a small minority says it should concentrate on creating alternative housing for residents of the areas outside the Qassams' range.

Whereas only a small minority trusts the current political leadership to eventually find the right solution to the security problem posed by the Qassams, a clear majority trusts the current IDF command to do so. Further evidence of the lack of trust in the political system is shown by the fact that only about half the public is certain that, if elections are held soon, they will bother to vote. The rest are vacillating, or declare that they will decline to cast a ballot.

Those are the main findings of the Peace Index [Note that there is a link between overall readiness for negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and readiness for direct talks with Hamas about the Qassams]:

Among those who generally support negotiations, 63 percent also favor direct contacts with Hamas on the rocket fire and only 33 percent are opposed to such talks. But among those who generally oppose contacts with the Palestinian Authority, only 18 percent favor negotiating with Hamas, compared with a majority of 56 percent who are opposed.

In any case, an overwhelming majority of 76 percent of the Jewish public believes Israel should not respond positively to Hamas' offer about ceasing IDF arrests of and strikes on its members in the West Bank in return for promises to stop the Qassam fire.

As noted, the Jewish public is not in favor of evacuating residents from the areas under attack. A majority of 52 percent thinks the government should mainly invest in reinforcing homes and public institutions in Sderot, and only 14 percent say it should focus on finding housing and employment outside the Qassams' range.

And for those who've never seen it before, here's a bit about the 'peace index':

The Peace Index Project is conducted at the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Evens Program in Mediation and Conflict Resolution of Tel Aviv University, headed by Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Hermann. The telephone interviews were conducted by the B.I. Cohen Institute of Tel Aviv University on 28-30.5.2007, and included 613 interviewees who represent the adult Jewish and Arab population of Israel (including the territories and the kibbutzim). The sampling error for a sample of this size is 4.5%.

The poll is conducted monthly.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:24 PM