From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Poll: 75% of Jewish Israelis back Rafah operation
A new poll finds that around three-quarters of Jewish Israelis support an expansion of IDF operations in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where more than half of the Strip’s 2.3 million people are sheltering in the area amid the ongoing war with Hamas, while two-thirds of Arab respondents disagree.
A political orientation breakdown in the Israel Democracy Institute survey shows that 45 percent of Jewish respondents who identify as left-wing support such a move, while the center and right-wing back it to a much greater extent.
The poll also finds that Israeli are split on Jerusalem’s standing in the international arena. “The share of Arab respondents who rate Israel’s international situation as negative (63%) is larger than the equivalent share of Jewish respondents (44%),” IDI says.
Looking at Israel-US relations specifically, the poll indicates divided public opinion on whether the Jewish state can continue to rely on support from Washington. Around 40% say fully or to a large extent, 34% say a moderate extent, and 20% were pessimistic about continued backing from Washington.
On expected changes to ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions, a hot topic in Israel at the moment, a large chunk of Jewish respondents (70%) think that changes should be made to the exemption given to Haredim, with the number jumping even higher (86%) among secular Jewish respondents. But only 19% of Haredi respondents voice support for the changes.
