Israelis broadly back PM’s Ukraine policies, split on receiving non-Jewish refugees
In TV survey, 53% want to maintain Israel’s current stance on the war, while 25% want Israel to identify more with Ukraine, 6% less
A survey by Israel’s Channel 12 on Tuesday found fairly wide support among Israelis for the government’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and mixed attitudes among Israelis about admitting Ukrainian refugees.
The survey says 25% of Israelis support allowing in only Jewish refugees and those who qualify for citizenship under the Law of Return; 24% want to maintain current limits on refugees who are not eligible for citizenship; 24% want to increase the limit, and 13% want unlimited entry for refugees.
The survey says 53% of Israelis want to maintain Israel’s current policy toward the conflict, while 6% want Israel to identify less with Ukraine and 25% want Israel to identify more with Ukraine.
Forty-four percent back Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s efforts to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, and 41% oppose this.
The survey also asked respondents about their voting choices in a hypothetical election — an Israeli survey staple, even though no election is on the horizon at the moment.
It found that, in the 120-seat Knesset, Likud would win 34 seats; Yesh Atid, 17; Shas, 9; Yamina, 7; Blue and White, 7; Labor, 7; Religious Zionism, 7; United Torah Judaism, 7; Yisrael Beytenu, 6; Joint List, 6; Ra’am, 5; Meretz, 4; New Hope, 4.
The current coalition, consisting of right-wing parties, centrist parties, left-wing parties and the Islamist Ra’am party, would thus hold 57 seats. Parties siding with former prime minister and current opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu would also win 57. This would leave the balance of power with the Arab-majority Joint List.
The survey was conducted Tuesday by iPanel and Mano Geva. It queried 507 Israelis and had a 4.4% margin of error.
