Rivlin, security chiefs top Israel’s approval ratings

President Reuven Rivlin tops the list of most popular public officials, followed by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and security chiefs Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, according to a poll published Friday by Haaretz.

The survey, conducted on Tuesday by Professor Camil Fuchs of Tel Aviv University, asked 506 respondents whether they were satisfied or dissatisfied by the performance of public officials, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Bank of Israel chief Karnit Flug.

Rivlin ranked highest, with 72% satisfaction and 11% dissatisfaction after almost a year in office. His predecessor in the ceremonial role of head of state, Shimon Peres, earned 77% approval in last year’s poll. Rivlin has made a point in his first year in office of striving to mend bridges between Israel’s Jewish majority and Arab minority.

Eisenkot, who took over from Benny Gantz in February as head of the armed forces, has an approval rating of 57%, compared to Gantz’s of 78% at this point last year. Only 9% disapprove of the new chief of staff, however. His boss Ya’alon, who is reprising his role as defense minister in the new government, has a 58% approval rating, up from 48% in a November 2014 poll conducted by Haaretz. Ya’alon’s disapproval rating stood at 26%, down from 34% in November.

Knesset Speaker Edelstein was the highest ranking Likud official in the poll, with 65% approval and 16% disapproval.

Netanyahu, by comparison, had an even 46% approval and disapproval rating, an improvement from 38% approval in November, before he called new elections. His main opponent in the March elections, opposition leader Isaac Herzog, won 41% approval and 37% disapproval.

At the bottom of the list of 14 officials surveyed were Histadrut Labor Union chief Avi Nissenkorn and State Comptroller Yosef Shapira, with 30% and 33% approval, respectively.