Only 18% of the Israeli public trusts in Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev, while the majority of the public trusts in the Shin Bet, according to a new survey published by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) on Monday.
Concerning trust in Bar Lev, there are differences between the different sides of the political spectrum, with only 11% of right-wing voters expressing trust in the minister while 33% of center voters and 40% of left-wing voters expressed trust in Bar Lev.
Meanwhile, 67% of the general Israeli public expressed trust in the Shin Bet. The level of trust differed between sectors as 75% of the Jewish sector expressed such trust, while only 27% of Arab-Israeli respondents said they felt the same.
A majority of Israelis expressed concerns about their personal safety, with 83% of Arab-Israelis saying they felt a lack of personal safety and 63.5% of Jewish Israelis saying the same. More women than men expressed that they felt unsafe, with 74% of Jewish women and 87% of Arab women saying so, compared to 54% of Jewish men and 78% of Arab men.
40% of Jewish Israelis stated that they believe that only a minority of Arab-Israelis support terrorism, while a little less than a third (31%) said they believe most Arabs support terrorism. A vast majority of Arabs (77%) believe that only a minority of Arabs support terrorism.
Most Jewish respondents (58.5%) stated that they believe that only a minority of Jews support revenge attacks, while 37% of Arabs said the same. Among the different parts of the political spectrum, more right-wing voters (23%) stated that they believe that most Jews support revenge attacks.
A vast majority of Jews (85%) stated that they believe that the punishments issued to terrorists are too light, compared to just 22% of Arabs.
Most of the Jewish sector (78%) believe that there is no room for ethics in the fight against terrorism and that all measures to stop terrorist attacks are fair game, according to IDI. Only 19% of Jews believe otherwise. In 2018, only 38.5% of Jews believed that there was no room for ethics.
Only 12% of Jews believe that Arab leaders are working diligently against Arab violence against Jews, while 60.5% of Arabs believe that their leaders are working diligently.
The poll comes amid tensions surrounding a wave of terror attacks in Beersheba, Hadera and Bnei Brak and operations by security forces to combat terrorism and incitement during the month of Ramadan.