Most Israelis don’t believe MKs represent them — poll

IDI survey finds just 17% think lawmakers reflect the will of the people, while 38% say Knesset functions badly or very badly

By ToI Staff 28 March 2016, 5:40 am

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A bird's eye view of the Knesset (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Barely one year after the 20th Knesset was sworn in, a new poll finds that only 17 percent of Israelis believe that lawmakers properly represent the will of the people, and 38% say that the Knesset “functions badly or very badly,” a new poll found.

According to the survey by the Israel Democracy Institute, almost one third of Israelis (29.5%) say this distrust stems from a lack of professionalism on the part of MKs, while 28.5% say lawmakers are disconnected from the public.

Furthermore, the poll found that more than half of Israelis (56%) believe that it is impossible to make successful contact with lawmakers, while a little over one-third (37%) hold the opposite opinion. Almost two-thirds of respondents (61%) also said that even if they did make a request of an MK, that request “will not receive proper attention or treatment.”

The survey was commissioned to mark the launch of a new caucus to “improve the image of the Knesset and its members.” The caucus, which is the initiative of Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern, has also won the backing of President Reuven Rivlin, the IDI said.

The details of the survey released by the IDI did not include the margin of error, the number of respondents or their demographic breakdown.