Israel’s reputation in the world has remained stable since the departure of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the establishment of the newest coalition government last summer, according to the newest survey by the Israel Democracy Institute.
The institute's “Israeli Voice Index,” which is a monthly public opinion survey conducted by the organization, found that two-thirds (65%) of respondents believe Israel’s international standing has either improved (28%) or stayed the same (37%). Some 29% of the respondents felt Israel's reputation has deteriorated after Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-tenured head of state, was replaced by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition government in June.
A majority of those surveyed also believe the government will succeed in passing the 2022‒2023 budget, which would ensure that the government does not collapse and will prevent another election – which would have been Israel’s fifth in just under three years.
Responses were split on political lines: half (51%) of respondents who identified themselves as right-wing politically believe Israel’s standing among the international community improved or remained stable, while a whopping 90% of left-leaning respondents believe Israel had an equal or greater standing since the new government took power. Center-leaning respondents felt similarly optimistic, with 84% percent saying the situation had improved or remained steady.
Notably, 44% of right-leaning participants said the new government had reduced Israel's international standing, while just 11% of centrist respondents and 6% of left-leaning respondents agreed.
The survey also tracked responses by participants who identified as Jewish or Arab. Among Jewish Israeli respondents, 37% said that no change has occurred in Israel’s international standing, while 27% think it has improved and 30% think that it has deteriorated. Arab Israeli interviewees felt slightly more positive: some 40% felt that Israel's standing has remained unchanged, 30% said it has improved, and 23% believe it has worsened.
The survey also tracked how Israeli’s believe other countries or institutions behave toward Israel, tracking the perceived attitudes of eight countries, the EU, and the UN. Three-fourths of Jewish Israelis felt the US was very or moderately friendly towards Israel, while 87.6% of Arab Israelis agreed with that sentiment. Respondents of both Jewish and Arab heritage generally agreed on most questions, though 69% of Arab participants felt the UN was very or moderately friendly while only 11.5% of Jewish respondents felt the same way.