The Peace Index – August 2014
(N=600)
11-12.8.2014

1. In your opinion, was Israel’s launching of Operation Protective Edge
justified or not justified?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
Very justified 79.6%/17.3%/69.2%
Moderately justified 12.1%/6.4%/11.1%
Not so justified 4.5%/19.7%/7.0%
Not at all justified 2.6%/42.4%/9.3%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 1.2%/14.2%/3.3%

2. How would you characterize the IDF’s use so far of its firepower in Gaza?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
Appropriate use 47.9%/2.7%/40.3%
Too much use of firepower 5.9%/62.1%/15.3%
Too little use of firepower 44.9%/10.2%/39.1%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 1.4%/25.0%/5.3%

3. How would you now rank your feeling about the results of Operation
Protective Edge so far on a scale from 1 (very disappointed) to 5 (very
satisfied)?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
1 Very disappointed 14.0%/60.5%/21.7%
2 12.8%/3.5%/11.3%
3 41.0%/17.6%/37.1%
4 22.9%/3.8%/19.7%
5 Very satisfied 9.0%/3.9%/8.2%
6 Don’t know/Decline to answer 0.4%/10.8%/2.1%

4. In your opinion, did the government have or not have clear goals before
launching Operation Protective Edge in Gaza?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
1. It had very clear goals 14.2%/21.6%/15.4%
2. It had moderately clear goals 36.5%/8.3%/31.8%
3. The goals were not completely clear 37.0%/11.0%/32.7%
4. There were no clear goals at all 9.7%/42.1%/15.1%
5. Don’t know/Decline to answer 2.7%/17.0%/5.1%

5. (For those who answered 1-3 on the previous question) In your opinion,
have the goals the government set for the operation been achieved or not
been achieved so far?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
1. All have been achieved 1.7%/7.7%/2.2%
2. Most have been achieved 42.5%/5.3%/39.3%
3. Only some have been achieved 47.6%/12.6%/44.6%
4. None have been achieved 5.6%/64.9%/10.7%
5. Don’t know/Decline to answer 2.6%/9.5%/3.1%

6. Hamas has posed several demands to Israel and announced that if Israel
does not agree to meet them, it will continue to fire at it. In light of
this, with which of the following opinions about where to go next with
Operation Protective Edge do you agree more:
Jews/Arabs/General Public
With the opinion that basically Israel does not have to meet any of Hamas’s
demands and should continue to fight until Hamas surrenders
57.8%/4.5%/48.9%
With the opinion that Israel should consider Hamas’s demands and respond
positively to those that are reasonable in terms of its national security
40.6%/53.9%/42.8%
With the opinion that Israel should accept Hamas’s demands so that the
rocket fire will stop 0.4%/32.4%/5.8%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 1.2%/9.3%/2.5%

7. What is your feeling today about the familiar saying “The world is
against us”?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
I’m sure it’s true 28.0%/25.4%/27.6%
I think it’s true 35.1%/19.8%/32.6%
I think it’s not true 26.1%/22.8%/25.6%
I’m sure it’s not true 8.6%/18.9%/10.3%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 2.1%/13.1%/3.9%

8. How do you evaluate the performance of each of the following in the
context of Operation Protective Edge:
8.1 The IDF
Jews/Arabs/General Public
Very good performance 69.7%/10.9%/59.9%
Moderately good performance 27.0%/4.9%/23.3%
Not so good performance 2.0%/4.5%/2.4%
Poor performance 0.5%/59.5%/10.3%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 0.8%/20.0%/4.1%

8.2 The national political level
Jews/Arabs/General Public
Very good performance 20.5%/11.7%/19.0%
Moderately good performance 40.4%/14.3%/36.0%
Not so good performance 25.9%/15.3%/24.2%
Poor performance 8.7%/28.5%/12.0%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 4.5%/30.2%/8.8%

9. Do you agree or disagree with cabinet ministers’ criticisms of Netanyahu
that he is running the operation too hesitantly and moderately?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
Strongly agree 14.2%/20.3%/15.2%
Moderately agree 27.4%/13.1%/25.0%
Moderately disagree 21.2%/9.7%/19.3%
Don’t agree at all 32.5%/28.8%/31.9%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 4.7%/28.0%/8.6%

10. What, in your opinion, is the best way for Israel to deal with the
challenge Hamas is now posing:
Jews/Arabs/General Public
The military way 25.7%/3.4%/22.0%
The political-diplomatic way 7.1%/71.8%/17.9%
A combination of the two ways, military and political-diplomatic
65.6%/15.1%/57.2%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 1.7%/9.7%/3.0%

11. What grade from 1 to 10 would you give the resilience and unity of the
Israeli Jewish population during Operation Protective Edge so far, with 1
meaning very low resilience and unity and 10 meaning very high resilience
and unity?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
1 0.3%/21.5%/3.8%
2 0%/2.9%/0.5%
3 0.7%/11.3%/2.5%
4 0.9%/7.8%/2.0%
5 2.4%/19.1%/5.2%
6 2.5%/4.3%/2.8%
7 4.3%/4.0%/4.3%
8 15.8%/2.9%/13.6%
9 19.1%/0%/15.9%
10 53.4%/9.5%/46.1%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 0.7%/16.7%/3.3%

12. What grade from 1 to 10 would you give the degree of civic
responsibility shown by the Israeli Arab population during Operation
Protective Edge so far, with 1 meaning very low civic responsibility and 10
meaning very high civic responsibility?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
1 22.2%/13.9%/20.8%
2 9.6%/8.6%/9.4%
3 7.6%/10.8%/8.1%
4 5.8%/8.1%/6.2%
5 15.9%/11.0%/15.1%
6 5.2%/13.3%/6.5%
7 7.2%/4.8%/6.8%
8 6.8%/4.9%/6.5%
9 2.9%/0.9%/2.5%
10 5.9%/7.6%/6.1%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 11.0%/16.0%/11.9%

13. Taking into account the variety of commentators and positions, what
grade from 1 to 10 would you give the Israeli television networks’ coverage
of Operation Protective Edge so far, with 1 meaning a very low professional
level and 10 meaning a very high professional level?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
1 6.3%/19.6%/8.5%
2 2.6%/12.3%/4.2%
3 4.2%/8.7%/4.9%
4 3.0%/6.0%/3.5%
5 13.4%/7.2%/12.4%
6 4.4%/7.1%/4.8%
7 10.5%/5.6%/9.7%
8 19.9%/7.2%/17.7%
9 8.8%/0.8%/7.5%
10 18.2%/7.1%/16.4%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 8.7%/18.4%/10.3%

14. In your opinion, to what extent was the principle of freedom of
expression upheld or not upheld in Israel during Operation Protective Edge,
with 1 meaning it was upheld to a very low degree and 10 meaning it was
upheld to a very high degree?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
1 3.1%/24.9%/6.7%
2 1.6%/5.3%/2.3%
3 2.7%/6.2%/3.3%
4 2.5%/3.7%/2.7%
5 9.3%/17.4%/10.7%
6 6.3%/10.5%/7.0%
7 13.4%/1.7%/11.5%
8 17.3%/5.0%/15.3%
9 8.9%/3.7%/8.1%
10 32.5%/5.2%/28.0%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 2.2%/16.5%/4.6%

15. In your opinion, during military operation is it necessary or
unnecessary to limit freedom of expression in Israel when it comes to
expressing criticism of the operation (not when it comes to breaking the law
by revealing military secrets)?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
I’m sure it needs to be limited 22.9%/34.2%/24.8%
I think it needs to be 35.5%/10.3%/31.3%
I think it does not need to be 21.7%/15.9%/20.7%
I’m sure it does not need to be 17.5%/26.1%/19.0%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 2.3%/13.4%/4.1%

16. To what extent do you trust Egypt under President Sissi to act as a fair
mediator between Israel and Hamas?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
Strongly trust it 14.9%/20.4%/15.8%
Moderately trust it 45.0%/10.5%/39.2%
Don’t trust it so much 23.8%/13.1%/22.0%
Don’t trust it at all 14.0%/41.7%/18.6%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 2.4%/14.3%/4.4%

17. What, in your opinion, are the chances that Operation Protective Edge
will lead to total quiet from Gaza for at least three years from the moment
that it ends?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
Very low chances 28.4%/20.7%/27.1%
Moderately low chances 42.3%/27.8%/39.9%
Moderately high chances 19.4%/25.4%/20.4%
Very high chances 5.8%/12.9%/7.0%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 4.2%/13.2%/5.7%

18. Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the country in the
coming years?
Jews/Arabs/General Public
Very optimistic 24.3%/21.7%/23.8%
Moderately optimistic 40.9%/18.0%/37.1%
Moderately pessimistic 22.8%/23.8%/23.0%
Very pessimistic 9.8%/22.8%/12.0%
Don’t know/Decline to answer 2.1%/13.7%/4.0%

The Peace Index: August 2014
Survey dates: 11/08/2014 - 12/08/2014
http://www.peaceindex.org/indexMonthEng.aspx?num=283#.U_WLH8IcSM8

Consensus: Even today, a month since Operation Protective Edge began, and
after the IDF ground forces’ withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, there is a
broad consensus in the Jewish public (92%) that the operation was justified.
This is so despite the uncertainty about how the operation will culminate as
well as the domestic debates on how Israel should handle the indirect talks
with Hamas and on whether the campaign was conducted appropriately on the
operational and humanitarian levels. A segmentation of the Jewish
interviewees’ answers to this question by self-placement on the political
right-left spectrum showed a majority in all camps for believers in the
justness of the operation, though this majority differed in size and perhaps
was affected by each camp’s retrospective view of the operation’s
achievements. This may be why the rate of justification of the operation on
the moderate right (97%), in the center (92.5%), and on the moderate left
(95%) was higher than on the right (89%), which was more critical of the
conduct and results of the campaign. As expected, the lowest rate of
justification (67%) is on the left. A consensus emerged in the Arab public
as well, but in the opposite direction: a solid majority of two-thirds think
Operation Protective Edge was not justified.

The goals of the operation: The Jewish public is divided between those who
think the government had clear or moderately clear goals before launching
the operation (51%) and those who think it did not have clear goals (47%).
In the Arab public a certain majority (53%) thinks the government did not
have clear goals for the campaign. A high rate (17%) of the Arab
interviewees did not have a clear opinion or declined to answer the question
(as on not a few other questions in this survey).

Achievements: Among the Jewish interviewees who thought the government had
goals of some sort, even if not entirely clear, only a tiny minority (2%)
thinks all of the goals were achieved. Some 42.5% believe most of the goals
were achieved, while the majority (53%) considers that only a small part of
the goals the government set for the operation were achieved or that they
were not achieved at all. As for the Arabs, 8% think all of the goals were
achieved, 5% say most were achieved, while 77.5% believe that only a small
part of the goals the government set for the operation were achieved or that
the goals were not achieved at all (a perception that, of course, affirms
Hamas’s resilience in facing the IDF).

The degree of use of firepower during the operation: Only 6% of the entire
Jewish public sees the IDF as having used too much firepower during the
operation. The rest of those with an opinion on the matter are almost evenly
split between 48% who regard the use of firepower as appropriate and 45% who
think the IDF made too little use of it. Political positions are, not
surprisingly, essential on this issue: among those who located themselves on
the left, the lowest rate – exactly half – said that the IDF made excessive
use of firepower (23% of the moderate left thought so). Among those who
situated themselves on the right, 56% saw too little use of firepower (on
the moderate right 50%). As for those defining themselves as belonging to
the center, the highest rate was for those who perceived an appropriate use
of IDF firepower (63%). In the Arab public, the majority opinion (62%) is
that the IDF made too much use of firepower.

Satisfaction with the operation: On a five-point scale, with a grade of 1
meaning very disappointed and 5 meaning very satisfied, the most common
grade for the Jewish public (41%) was 3, that is, almost midway between the
disappointed and the satisfied (3 was also the average grade among the
Jewish public). Thirty-two percent are very satisfied or moderately
satisfied with the operation (grades of 4 or 5); slightly fewer (27%) are
very disappointed or moderately disappointed (grades of 1 or 2). In other
words, the prevailing attitude is not one of either great satisfaction or
great disappointment, perhaps indicating confusion about the situation at
the time of the survey, with no agreement yet having been reached between
Israel and Hamas. In the Arab public the picture is much clearer: with an
average grade of 1.7, it is evident that the majority (64%) is very
disappointed or moderately disappointed with the operation’s results. It
should be noted that most likely the satisfaction or, alternatively,
disappointment of the Jewish public and of the Arab public do not relate to
the same elements of reality, given the deep disparities between the two
populations, as noted above, regarding the operation as a whole.

And what happens now?: A large majority of the Jewish public (71%) sees a
low chance that Operation Protective Edge will bring about a complete
cessation of rocket fire from Gaza for at least three years from the moment
it ends. In the Arab public, 48.5% are of the view that the quiet will not
be long-lasting, but more than one-third think – or maybe hope – it is
possible that the quiet will last three years or more. At the same time, a
clear majority (65%) of the Jewish interviewees are very or moderately
optimistic about the future of the country. A segmentation by self-placement
on the right-left spectrum showed that such a majority exists in all of the
camps, though its size is variable (right 71%, moderate right 67%, center
69%, moderate left 61%, left 54%). The Arab public is divided between 40%
who are optimistic about the country’s future and 47% who are pessimistic
about it.

Israel’s response to Hamas’s demands: The majority of the Jewish public
(58%) thinks that Israel should not respond to any of Hamas’s demands and
instead should continue the campaign until it surrenders, but a substantial
minority (41%) says Israel should consider these demands on their merits and
respond positively to those that are reasonable from the standpoint of its
national security. Another possibility that was presented to the
interviewees – that Israel should accept all of Hamas’s demands so that the
rocket fire will cease – did not receive any support. As could have been
expected, there is a large overlap between those who think the goals of the
operation were not achieved and the chances of long-term quiet are low, and
those who think Israel should continue the campaign. In the Arab public the
majority’s preference (54%) is that Israel consider the demands on their
merits and respond positively to those that are reasonable from the
standpoint of its national security. Thirty-two percent favor accepting all
of Hamas’s demands so that the rocket fire will end.

The best way for Israel to deal with the challenge of Hamas: A clear
majority (66%) of the Jewish public favors a combination of two approaches –
the military and the political-diplomatic. Twenty-six percent prefer only
the military approach, and 7% opt only for the political-diplomatic channel.
This distribution of answers indicates that even among those who think
Israel should continue the fighting until Hamas surrenders, not a few
support the combined military and political-diplomatic approaches. In the
Arab public, a clear-cut majority (72%) sees the preferable approach to the
problem of Hamas as the political-diplomatic one.

The performance of the state bodies: We again looked into the public’s
assessment of the IDF’s and the national-political echelon’s performance.
Although both bodies receive more positive than negative evaluations, there
are wide disparities. In the Jewish public there is unanimity (97%) that the
IDF’s performance was very good or moderately good, with a slight advantage
for the very-good grade. However, only 61% think the political level
performed very well or moderately well with a clear advantage for the
moderately-good grade. The lower assessment of the political level’s
performance could be explainable in terms of the considerable minority (42%)
who expressed agreement with some government ministers’ criticism of Prime
Minister Netanyahu for, in their view, conducting the campaign too
hesitantly and moderately (the majority – 54% – do not agree with this
criticism).

The performance of the media: Another institution that has been emphatically
present during the operation is the media. Hence we asked, “Taking into
account the variety of commentators and positions, what grade from 1 to 10
would you give the Israeli television networks’ coverage of Operation
Protective Edge so far, with 1 meaning a very low professional level and 10
meaning a very high professional level?” The average grade given by the
Jewish interviewees – 6.8 (between “sufficient” and “almost good”) – shows
that satisfaction with the media’s performance was not high. The average
grade that the Arab interviewees gave the performance of Israeli television
during the operation was much lower (4.3).

Maintaining freedom of speech: On the question: “In your opinion, to what
extent was the principle of freedom of expression upheld or not upheld in
Israel during Operation Protective Edge, with 1 meaning it was upheld to a
very low degree and 10 meaning it was upheld to a very high degree?,” the
average grade (7.6) obtained from the Jewish interviewees reveals that a
considerable number of Jews are indeed unsatisfied with the degree to which
freedom of expression was maintained during the operation (the left because
of what is saw as the “silencing” of people and the right because of what it
viewed as unrestrained criticism). The majority, however, does not find
fault with the degree to which freedom of expression was maintained.
Moreover, the criticism implied by this grade does not necessarily stem from
concern about upholding one of the central values of Israeli democracy. This
is evident from the distribution of responses to the question of whether,
during a military operation, one should or should not limit freedom of
expression in the country as far as expressing criticism of the campaign is
concerned (not with regard to the illegal disclosure of military secrets).
Here a majority (58%) of the Jewish public favors limiting freedom of
expression under such circumstances while only 39% think freedom of
expression should not be limited. The average grade obtained from the Arab
interviewees’ answers to the question of the extent to which freedom of
expression was maintained during the operation was, as expected, low (4.3).
On the question of the degree to which freedom of expression ought to be
limited in wartime, this population was divided between supporters and
opponents.

National fortitude: As in previous surveys we conducted during Operation
Protective Edge that addressed this issue, this time as well we found the
Jewish interviewees giving a very high assessment of the resilience and
unity of the Jewish public (an average grade of 9.0 on a scale of 1 to 10).
The Arab interviewees, however, gave a low grade (4.3) to the resilience and
unity of the Jewish public.

Civic responsibility: We asked: “What grade from 1 to 10 would you give the
degree of civic responsibility shown by the Israeli Arab population during
Operation Protective Edge so far, with 1 meaning very low civic
responsibility and 10 meaning very high civic responsibility?” Here the
findings were interesting. The Jewish public gave the Arabs a low grade for
civic responsibility during the war (an average of 4.4), which is similar to
the previous poor evaluations that the Jewish interviewees assigned to the
behavior of the Israeli Arabs during the operation. Surprisingly, however,
the Arab interviewees themselves gave their own community almost as low a
grade on this question (4.6). Many interpretations are possible; since we do
not have additional data (for example, regarding the interviewees’ precise
understanding of the term “civic responsibility”) with which to consider the
interpretational alternatives, we will leave this without an answer at this
point.

Is the whole world against us? In this survey as well, a notable majority of
the Jewish public (63%) thought that “The whole world is against us,” with
only about one-third dissenting from this attitude. Here too the gaps
according to self-affiliation with a political camp are large: on the right
69% assess that “The whole world is against us,” on the moderate right 60%,
in the center 66%, on the moderate left 52%, and on the left only a minority
of 31% feel this way.

Egypt’s performance as a fair mediator: Somewhat ironically, despite the
fact that the majority of the Jewish public thinks “The whole world is
against us,” a majority of the Jewish public (60%) trusts Egypt under
President Sissi to serve as a fair mediator between Israel and Hamas.
However, in the Arab public a similar majority (55%) does not trust Egypt
under Sissi to be a fair mediator in this regard.

===
The Peace Index is a project of the Evens Program for Mediation and Conflict
Resolution at Tel Aviv University and the Israel Democracy Institute. This
month's survey was conducted by telephone on August 11-12, 2014, by the
Midgam Research Institute. The survey included 600 respondents, who
constitute a representative national sample of the whole Israeli adult
population aged 18 and over. The maximum measurement error for the whole
sample is ±4.1% at a confidence level of 95%. Statistical processing was
done by Ms. Yasmin Alkalay.