Against the background of the ongoing debate over continued non-conscription of Charedim, a survey by the Israel Democracy Institute indicates that 70% of Israeli Jews believes that the exemption clause should be amended due to the unreasonably heavy burden on soldiers serving in the army.
Among supporters of Yisrael Beytenu, Yesh Atid and the State Camp, this opinion is backed by about 90% of respondents. Among right-wing voters there is a majority, but a smaller one - 60% for Likud voters and 56% for Religious Zionism backers.
Among Charedi respondents, only 20% believe that the War in Gaza and the exceptionally long periods of time combat soldiers were asked to serve in Gaza and other parts of the country should affect the question of Charedi recruitment.
Another question that was examined was the issue of expanding the military operation to Rafah - something the Biden administration has warned repeatedly against. 75% of Jewish respondents are in favor of attacking the southern city in order to pressure Hamas into a better deal for a hostage release. Among Israeli Arabs, about two-thirds are in favor of avoiding this, in order not to endanger relations with Egypt and the current hostage release deal from taking shape.
The public is divided on the question of American commitment to Israel, with a tendency towards trusting the US. About 40% believe that US support can be fully trusted, 34% say that it can be trusted to a moderate extent, and about 20% believe that it is impossible to trust the Americans for continued support.
The survey was conducted for the Israel Democracy Institute by the Institute's Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research under the leadership of Prof. Tamar Herman and Yaron Kaplan.
