Poll: Israelis rank cost of living, security as top election issues; only 22% say head of party important

The top two sets of issues that will influence Israelis’ votes in the election next month are the economy and the high cost of living, and foreign policy and security, according to a poll published today by the Israel Democracy Institute.

The third and fourth considerations, for Jewish respondents, were the related issues of conscription — generally understood to be the question of whether Haredi men must serve in the military — and religion and state, which often relates to the Chief Rabbinate’s control over marriage and conversion, as well as religious restrictions and practices in the public square.

According to the poll, 41 percent of respondents ranked the economy and the high cost of living as one of their top two considerations, followed by foreign affairs and security at 38%.

Among Jews, conscription was ranked by 27%, followed by religion and state at 26%. Among Arab respondents, fewer than 10% ranked crime in Arab society as one of their top two considerations.

For years, Israel’s political camps have been sorted into blocs that oppose or support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But that emphasis wasn’t reflected in the poll, which found that only 22% of respondents ranked the identity of the head of the party as one of their top two considerations, placing it fifth of the six issues surveyed.

In last place among Jews was an issue that dominated Israeli politics and society for much of 2023 before the Hamas-led October 7 attack that year: the judicial overhaul. Only 18% said it was one of their top two considerations.

Much of the discourse in the campaign has been about the October 7, 2023, attack and its aftermath, which appears to have led Israelis to place much more emphasis on security when responding to the poll. Before the 2022 election, IDI found that only 11% of respondents ranked security and foreign affairs as their top issue.