Jewish and Arab Israelis split on Netanyahu, elections, and peace process

From the responses, the TAU team determined that the Jewish Israeli public seems to know very well what it does not want, but doesn’t have much of an idea of what it does want.

By TZVI JOFFRE
Paper slips from the 2015 election, at a voting booth in Jerusalem (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Paper slips from the 2015 election, at a voting booth in Jerusalem
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Jewish and Arab Israelis are split when it comes to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's indictment, the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the upcoming elections, according to Tel Aviv University’s (TAU) Peace Index.
Concerning whether the decision to indict Netanyahu was biased or not, one third of Jews in Israel believe that the decision was biased and intended to influence the elections.
Was the decision to indict Netanyahu biased? - Jewish Respondents
Was the decision to indict Netanyahu biased? - Jewish Respondents
Meanwhile, another third of Jewish Israelis believe that the decision was based on professional considerations and unbiased, while 8.5% of Jewish Israelis believe that the decision was actually meant to help Netanyahu by lightening the terms of indictment against him.
17% of Jewish respondents said they did not know if the decision was biased or not. Almost half of Arab-Israelis believe that the decision was unbiased.
Almost half of Israeli citizens, both Jewish and Arab, believe that Netanyahu should not be presented with a plea bargain agreement. Just 12% of respondents thought that he should be presented with a plea bargain agreement, while 24% felt that the charges should be dropped completely.
Concerning the “French Law,” which would prohibit indicting a serving prime minister, around half of the respondents, Jewish and Arab, said that the rule of law should have primacy and that Netanyahu should resign if he’s accused, even if he forms a coalition after the elections.
In regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, more than half of Jewish Israelis oppose the continuation of the current situation with the Palestinians. They mostly oppose the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but reject annexing the West Bank or establishing one state under Israeli rule with limited rights to Palestinians.
Support and Objection for Palestian-Israeli Options - Jewish Respondents
Support and Objection for Palestian-Israeli Options - Jewish Respondents
An overwhelming majority of Jewish Israelis also oppose a one-state solution with full and equal rights for Jews and Palestinians. The solution that has the most support from Jewish Israelis is the two-state solution at  39% of respondents, while the creation of one state with full and equal rights for all has the least support at 13%.

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From the responses, the TAU team determined that the Jewish Israeli public seems to know very well what it does not want, but doesn’t have much of an idea of what it does want.
A large majority (70%) of Arab Israelis prefer the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, while a much smaller percentage (54%) supports the creation of one state with full and equal rights. A majority of Arab Israelis reject annexation or the continuation of the current situation.
Support and Objection for Palestian-Israeli Options - Arab Respondents
Support and Objection for Palestian-Israeli Options - Arab Respondents
Almost half of the Jewish Israeli public believes that the situation will remain the same in any case, while the chances of any of the other solutions happening are judged by the public to be exceedingly small. Arab Israelis responded similarly.
With the April 9 elections coming up next week, about 65% of Jewish Israelis said they would prefer a right-wing or right-leaning government in the upcoming elections, according to the TAU survey, while only 15% would prefer a left-wing government.
What Government should be Elected?
What Government should be Elected?
The majority of Arab Israelis prefer a center-left or left-wing government.
Concerning what type of government they believe has a better chance of being formed, right-wing (39%) and right-center (36%) governments were considered to have the best chance by respondents, while only 6% believed a left-leaning government had a better chance.
About half of Jewish Israelis believe that the Blue and White party is center-left or left-wing, while about half of Arab Israelis believe that the Blue and White party is right or center-right.
Security-political and socioeconomic issues were the main concerns for Jewish Israelis when choosing who to vote for, followed by corruption and morality and significantly less, religion and tradition.
Main Concerns of Voters in Upcoming Elections
Main Concerns of Voters in Upcoming Elections
Religion and tradition was much more important for Arab voters, but still less so than political-security issues, corruption, and socioeconomic concerns.
Corruption was more of a central concern for female (76%) voters than for male (68.5%) voters, and much less of a concern for ultra-Orthodox (5%) voters compared to the general public (74%).


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