Coronavirus crisis turned Israelis, Palestinians to faith in God
Some 34% of Jews and 49% of Palestinians said their faith increased as a result of coronavirus.
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMANTwo paramedics, a Jew wearing a prayer shawl and a Muslim using a prayer mat, pray beside each other near a Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance in Beersheba, southern Israel, March 24, 2020(photo credit: MOHAMD ALNBARE/MDA SPOKESPERSON)
Palestinians and Israelis have more faith in God as a result of the coronavirus crisis, a new study by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and Keevoon Global Research revealed.The survey measured the attitudes of Israelis, Palestinians, Germans, Americans, Brits, Italian and Poles about the novel coronavirus.Around 500 people from each country were polled between April 28 and May 9, with an average margin of error of +/- 4.33%.Some 34% of Jews and 49% of Palestinians said their faith increased as a result of coronavirus. Some 39% of Americans said their faith in God increased as well.In contrast, only 19% of Germans, 22% of Poles, 22% of Italians and 18% of Brits felt similarly.When asked what they wished for, many Israelis, Palestinians and Americans responded that they hoped the disease would lead “everyone to know God and who is in control.” Similarly, when asked what COVID-19 means to them, several people said that “God is trying to tell me something.”American-Israeli pollster and communications professional Mitchell Barak, who heads Keevoon, said there was no formal explanation for this increase in faith, but he surmised that it could have had to do with the time of year. Jews experienced coronavirus during the Purim and Passover holidays, both which center around miracles.Muslims were impacted by coronavirus during the month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, prayer, reflection and community.Israelis were found to be the most optimistic about their future after corona: 71% said they were optimistic, versus 58% of Palestinians, 57% of Germans, 65% of Poles, 55% of Italians, 57% of British and 59% of Americans. The country with the most pessimistic people was Italy at 35%.In all countries, more people felt it is unlikely they will contract the virus versus likely, and that if they did get sick then they would receive needed care. The only country in which people felt less confident about receiving needed care was Poland, where 45% said they were confident and 47% said they were not.
Despite this optimism, some 28% of Israelis and 41% of Palestinians said that they think the worst is yet to come. In America that number is 51% and in Poland it is 59%.On the question of optimism, Israeli men were more likely than women to be optimistic by 13%. Similarly, on the question of confidence in receiving care, 75% of men versus 56% of women said they were confident – a difference of 19%.Barak said that here, too, there was not a clear explanation.Moreover, the only people who thought that their state or authority was prepared for the outbreak were in Israel (55% prepared vs. 41% unprepared) and the Palestinian Authority (54% vs 40%). In all other countries, the majority of people said they were unprepared.Despite the high number of cases of coronavirus and the large number of people who died from COVID-19, only around one-third of respondents in each country said they know someone personally who was diagnosed with coronavirus.The country whose citizens were most likely to know someone was Italy (38%).So far, there have been 226,000 confirmed cases in Italy and more than 32,000 people have died.In Israel, Arabs were more likely than Jews to know someone (33% vs. 48%), and members of the ultra-Orthodox community were more likely as well. Some 56% of ultra-Orthodox Israelis said they knew someone personally, versus 37% of religious, 30% of traditional and 34% of secular Jews.As of May 12, 22% of all infections in Israel were from ultra-Orthodox towns and 26% were from mixed cities with large ultra-Orthodox populations, according to a new report by the Taub Center.At the same time, in nearly every country, the majority (between 55% and 67%) of people expressed that their leaders handled the coronavirus outbreak and crisis well. The only exceptions were in America (45%) and Poland (41%).The results align with other polls taken in the United States. A survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published in late April showed that only 23% of Americans have high levels of trust in what the president is telling the public, and another 21% trust him a moderate amount.
