Confidence or no-confidence? That is the question

Over the last two months, hundreds of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets demonstrating against the judicial reform being advanced by the government. Against the background of these events, it is interesting to see the degree of confidence Israel’s residents feel toward dominant state institutions, headed by the Knesset, the government and the court system. Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics Social Survey of 2021 allows us to take a look.

Unfortunately, confidence in the Knesset and the government is low. In 2021, only 28% of Jews age 20 and up in Israel indicated that they have a high degree or some degree of confidence in the Knesset. The level of confidence in the government is a bit higher – 33%, while confidence in the judicial system is significantly higher – 55%. A similar picture is painted among the Arab population in Israel – 27% indicated that they have a high degree or some degree of confidence in the Knesset, 33% in the government, and 58% in the judicial system.

A look at the data among the Jewish population of Israel’s three largest cities – Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa – also indicates a lower degree of confidence in the Knesset and the government than in the judicial system. Bnei Braq paints the opposite picture. An extremely low degree of confidence stands out among this city’s population, primarily Haredi, in the judicial system – 11%.    

Among Jerusalem residents (Jews and Arabs) – 22% indicated that they have a high degree or some degree of confidence in the Knesset, 26% in the government, and 45% in the judicial system. There is a large gap between confidence expressed by Jerusalem’s Jewish residents and Arab residents to the different institutions. Among Jewish residents, the highest confidence was toward the IDF (90%), after which comes the municipality (76%) and the police (57%). Among Arab residents, on the other hand, the highest confidence was expressed toward the media (70%), the judicial system (45%) and the municipality (30%). It is interesting to note that the confidence expressed by both these sectors toward the judicial system are identical – 45%.