Forty-six percent of the Jewish population in Israel believes that American Jewish organizations are not doing enough to bridge policy differences and ease the tensions between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government, according to the fourth annual Survey of Contemporary Israeli Attitudes Toward World Jewry, which was released on June 14. The survey, conducted by KEEVOON Research on behalf of the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem, delivered statistics on a variety of current issues including Israeli feelings toward Jews in the Diaspora. The survey found that 57 percent of adult Israeli Jews believe that American organizations that lobby the U.S. government in support of pro-Israel policies should always support the policies of the current Israeli government while 32 percent agreed that such organizations are free to openly oppose the policies of the current Israeli government.
“Attitudes of Israelis toward the Jewish Diaspora are in constant flux and are impacted by events taking place in both communities, which this year is punctuated by reports in the media of a crisis in Israel-U.S. relations due to policy differences and issues pertaining to conversion and the status of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism,” World Center Director Alan Schneider said. “Our survey revealed that the Israeli-Diaspora relationship is very important to Israelis. The concern shown by Israelis for the well-being of the Diaspora and their consideration for the opinions voiced by Diaspora Jewry is unique.”
The survey was conducted in advance of the presentation of the 17th annual B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage for 2009 in Memory of Wolf and Hilda Matsdorf. The award will be conferred on June 17.
Fifty-four percent of those polled said they support rabbis from the Reform and Conservative movements, stating that rabbis from those branches of Judaism should receive equal status and funding in Israel as Orthodox rabbis. Only 36 percent of those polled expressed opposition to this proposition. In addition, 44 percent supported the State of Israel recognizing Reform and Conservative conversion while 49 percent insist that only conversions performed by the Chief Rabbinate should be recognized by the state.
In an expression of solidarity with the Diaspora, nearly 60 percent of Israelis supported the notion that their tax money should be used to provide basic services like education, healthcare, and food to Diaspora Jewish communities that are struggling in light of the recent global economic situation, with 36 percent of those polled opposing that view. Among the youngest age bracket polled, in the 18-24 year-olds demographic, support for using tax money for Diaspora basic services stood at a staggering 73 percent.
Fifty-three percent of those polled believed that Diaspora Jewry should consider the opinions of Israelis when deciding issues like who to vote for or which policies impacting Israel’s future should be supported or opposed. However, only 40 percent thought that Israelis should consider the opinions of Diaspora Jewry when deciding issues like who vote for or which policies impacting Israel's future should be supported or opposed.
“The World Center intends to continue and expand its annual survey of contemporary Israeli opinion on the Diaspora in order to provide valuable tools for formulating Israel-Diaspora relations in the future,” World Center Chairman Haim V. Katz said.
The telephone survey was conducted June 9-11 and included representatives from the Jewish Israeli population over the age of 18. Five-hundred people were interviewed and there is a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent.
The B’nai B’rith World Center is the permanent and official presence of B’nai B’rith International in Jerusalem and serves as its public affairs arm in Israel. To receive full details of the survey, please contact Schneider at tel: 02-6251743; fax: 02-6258097; mobile 052-5536441; or e-mail: worldcenter@bnaibrith.org.
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