The survey was conducted in advance of the presentation of the B'nai B'rith World Center Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage for 2008 in Memory of Wolf and Hilda Matsdorf. The award will be presented Sunday, July 6.

The telephone survey was conducted June 24-25 among a representative sample of 500 Jewish Israelis over the age of 18 and has a margin of error +/- 4.5 percent.

The B'nai B'rith World Center survey also tested public support for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent unexpected Israel-Diaspora policy shift away from mass aliyah promotion to "strengthen[ing] Jewish education in Jewish communities, including the study of Hebrew; increase awareness regarding Jewish culture and Heritage; instill Jewish values; and deepen the links between world Jewish communities and the State of Israel."

The poll found significant support for the prime minister's new policy, with 46.1 percent of those polled saying they agree with the new goals set out by Olmert while 38.4 percent said that the main goal of the government in Israel-Diaspora relations should continue to be the promotion of mass aliyah.  Kadima voters had above average support for Olmert's new policy, at 61 percent in favor, followed by 55 percent of Labor votes in favor, and Yisrael Beitenu voters at 48 percent in favor. Conversely, 52 percent of religious Jews support the earlier policy.

Speaking to the significant support found by the survey for Olmert's new policy, B'nai B'rith World Center Director Alan Schneider said: "This result was unexpected since little public debate on the issue had taken place before and since the prime minister's announcement of official Israeli government policy regarding aliyah."

B'nai B'rith World Center Chairman Dr. Haim V. Katz noted: "B'nai B'rith has been engaged for decades in strengthening Israel-Diaspora relations and Jewish education and intends to support the prime minister's efforts to make this the focus of a new Israel-Diaspora paradigm."

The survey also found that 82 percent believe that the recent series of investigations and prosecutions of Israeli politicians had had a negative effect on Israel's image abroad – with 68.3 percent of these saying the effect was very negative. Only 9 percent thought the effect was positive.

A vast majority of Israeli Jews – 76 percent – said that in their opinion it is safer to live as a Jew in Israel than in the Diaspora, with only 10 percent choosing the Diaspora as being safer.  

Asked who bears the most responsibility to fight outbreaks of anti-Semitism in the Diaspora, 43 percent of those polled chose the State of Israel while only 24 percent chose their local Jewish community.  

The survey's final question gauged whether Israelis agree or disagree that the opinions of Diaspora Jewry should be considered by the Israeli government when deciding on any border changes. Only 20.5 percent of Israelis agreed that the government should take Diaspora Jewish opinion into consideration when deciding on border changes, while 74.8 percent disagreed – 62.1 percent of those disagreed strongly.

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 World Center Director Alan Schneider at tel: 02-6251743; fax: 02-6258097; mobile 052-5536441 or e-mail: worldcenter@bnaibrith.org.