Most Israelis worried for democracy, study finds; trust in Knesset, government down
Nearly half of Israelis think the country is in a bad place, although two-thirds believe it is still a good place to live, according to the IDI’s annual Democracy Index
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter

Israelis’ sense that democratic rule in the country is under threat is at an almost record high, while trust in its major institutions, including all three branches of government, is at record lows, data from the Israel Democracy Institute’s annual Democracy Index indicated on Tuesday.
The study showed that public trust in the government and the Knesset sank considerably in the wake of the catastrophic invasion and massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 last year, but has since rallied to a certain extent.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, nearly half of Israeli citizens think the country is in a bad place and only a fifth have a sunny outlook on its embattled situation. Despite all the country’s woes, however, the IDI index found that two-thirds of Israelis still believe it is a good place to live, though this figure, too, represented a seven-year low.
“The trust we have in ourselves, in our people, and in our state, has always been a cornerstone for us. When trust is shaken, when the foundations are destabilized, the nation is in danger,” said President Isaac Herzog to IDI President Yohanan Plesner after being presented with the study at the president’s residence on Tuesday.
“Even now, especially now, we must not forget that our enemies have made and continue to make significant efforts to stoke internal conflicts among us — both in the period leading up to the massacre and throughout this past year,” he continued, adding this reality cannot be forgotten.
Trust in the institution of the president of Israel is also at a low mark not seen in over 15 years.
Plesner decried attacks on Israeli institutions by the country’s leadership, and their efforts “attacking checks and balances” in the country, and the professionalism of its key agencies.

“The irresponsible weakening of institutions that have served as a source of Israel’s strength and prosperity for decades is a dangerous phenomenon, especially in time of war. Our leaders have much work to do, and time is of the essence,” said Plesner.
According to the IDI’s latest index, respondents consider friction between right and left to be by far the “most acute social tension in Israel today,” whereas its 2022 survey found friction between Jews and Arabs to be by far the most acute social tension.
The index found that fully 58 percent of Israelis believe democracy is under threat, a figure surpassed only in 2022 when the rate stood at 59%. Among Jews, the figure is 54%; among Arabs, it is 77.5%.
Concern over threats to democracy was far greater among left-wing and centrist Israelis, standing at 94% and 71%, respectively, although more than one-third of right-wing Israelis, some 38%, expressed the same sentiment.
At the same time, trust in the Knesset and the government plunged precipitously over the last year, falling to absolute nadirs of 13% and 19%, respectively, by May 2024 among the Jewish public, although recovering somewhat to 16% and 25% by October.
Despite frequent and hostile attacks by the current government against the judiciary, the Supreme Court enjoys a considerably higher level of public trust than both other branches of government, but nevertheless finds itself at an all-time low point on that measurement with 39% of the public expressing faith in the institution.
Findings regarding how Israelis view the situation were similarly bleak, perhaps unsurprisingly given Hamas’s devastating attack, the ongoing hostage crisis, and the multi-front wars that Israel has been waging for over a year, which have resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands of soldiers and civilians, displacement, and nationwide suffering.

According to the IDI index, fewer than one in five Israelis rated the country’s overall situation as “good” or “very good,” and almost half, some 48.5%, assessed that the country is in a “bad” or “very bad” situation.
At the same time, some two-thirds of Israelis still believe the country is a good place to live. The survey also found a strong sense of belonging to the state among a majority of Jews and a smaller majority of Arabs, despite the manifold challenges to the country.
The Israel Defense Forces remained the standout institution in terms of the level of public trust it enjoys at 77%. The rating among the general public was down to 69% in May this year, but has recovered, likely as a result of the military’s impressive achievements in destroying Hamas as a military force in Gaza and decapitating Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trust in the police is, however, waning. It reached as low as 32% in the middle of 2023, perhaps as a result of heavy handed tactics in tackling anti-government protests that year, but rose slightly this year, reaching 37%.
Responding to the index, Acting Supreme Court President Isaac Amit asserted that attacks on the court and the Judicial Authority in general that accuse it of facing a crisis of public trust are “not consistent with reality,” in light of the IDI’s report.
Numerous ministers in the current government have repeatedly attacked the Supreme Court over the last year as going against “the will of the people,” most notably Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has been engaged in a two-year fight with the judiciary and last week said he would revive his highly divisive push to curtail the authority of the judiciary.
Amit said the attacks are “a deliberate attempt to undermine public trust in the judiciary” and are “inconsistent with reality and do not align with the findings of the index” published by IDI on Monday.
“The independence, professionalism, and apolitical character of the Judicial Authority are critical and necessary components for it to ensure public trust in it,” Amit added, in an allusion to Levin’s efforts to assert greater government control over it.