Israelis trust the IDF, are skeptical of politicians — survey
Central Bureau of Statistics report finds that political parties, Knesset and cabinet are widely distrusted
The Israel Defense Forces remains the most trusted institution in the country, earning the confidence of 82 percent of respondents in a Central Bureau of Statistics annual survey published Sunday.
Local municipalities came in second, with an average confidence rating of 61% percent, followed by the state comptroller with 60%.
At the bottom of the list are political parties, which are trusted by a mere 22% of the public. Second to last is the Knesset at 38%, just below the cabinet with 40%.
While trust in the IDF was ranked the highest overall, the proportion of reported trust in the army was nearly three times higher among Israeli Jews than their Arab counterparts: 93% to 32%, respectively.
Israelis from all segments of society appeared to share a distrust of political parties.
A total of 22% of respondents — 24% of Jewish and 15% of Arab respondents — said they have confidence in Israel’s political parities, respondents.
The second- and third-least trusted public institutions according to the study were the Knesset (38%) and the cabinet (40%).
The Israel Police was the fourth-least trusted public institution (53%) and the Central Bureau of Statistics, which conducted the poll, the fifth-least trusted (54%).
Local municipalities were the second-most trusted (61%) of public institutions surveyed in the report, the state comptroller was the third-most trusted (60%) and the justice system was the fourth.
The survey also studied Israeli public trust in the media and in nonprofit organizations.
Fifty-one percent of respondents said they trusted nonprofit organizations — Jews more than Arabs with 54% to 39%, respectively — and 39% expressed confidence in the media.
The Central Bureau of Statistics report also looked into how many Israelis felt discriminated against during 2015.
A total of 31% of respondents said they felt discriminated against for one of the following reasons: age, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation and physical or psychological handicap.
