Annual poll: Public’s faith in institutions, satisfaction in state of country dire

With Israel passing a national budget for the first time in two years, ending recurrent coalition collapses and repeated elections, trust in the government rose ever so slightly, but overall confidence in state institutions remains low, according to an annual survey released Thursday by the Israel Democracy Institute.

For Arab Israelis, who generally distrust state institutions more than Jewish Israelis do, a significant increase was seen in their faith in the government, political parties and the Knesset, as the coalition for the first time in decades now includes an Arab party.

The report was delivered in person to President Isaac Herzog by the Israel Democracy Institute president Yohanan Plesner, and Prof. Tamar Hermann, director of IDI’s Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research.

It was divided into four main topics: democratic values, the legal system, trust and general satisfaction.

The annual report, in its 19th edition, revealed “a complex picture regarding the level of public trust in key institutions and officials, confidence in the country’s civil service and the overall strength of Israeli democracy,” the IDI said in a statement. READ MORE