Percentage of Israelis Optimistic About National Security Drops

 Israeli border guards stand guard as they close all access to the Damascus Gate of the old city of Jerusalem amidst heightened security measures late on June 28, 2022. (AFP)
Israeli border guards stand guard as they close all access to the Damascus Gate of the old city of Jerusalem amidst heightened security measures late on June 28, 2022. (AFP)
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Percentage of Israelis Optimistic About National Security Drops

 Israeli border guards stand guard as they close all access to the Damascus Gate of the old city of Jerusalem amidst heightened security measures late on June 28, 2022. (AFP)
Israeli border guards stand guard as they close all access to the Damascus Gate of the old city of Jerusalem amidst heightened security measures late on June 28, 2022. (AFP)

February saw a sharp increase in the proportion of Israelis who describe their nation's overall situation as bad or very bad, according to the Israeli Democracy Institute's February 2023 edition of the Israeli Voice Index.

The Israeli Voice Index is a monthly survey conducted by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research. The February report was compiled by Prof. Tamar Hermann and Dr. Or Anabi.

The survey was conducted via the internet and by telephone between February 27 and March 5, 2023, with 608 men and women interviewed in Hebrew and 173 in Arabic, creating a nationally representative sample of the adult population in Israel.

According to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, researchers found a notable decline in the percentage of Israelis who are optimistic about Israel’s security, both internal and external.

Optimists were in the minority across the political spectrum - 11% of those on the Left, 22% of those in the center and 46% of those on the Right reported optimism about Israel's security.

The IDI report noted that this could be due to February's uptick in terror attacks.

It also said the level of optimism about the future of democracy has stayed the same over the last several months.

Only 38% of all respondents reported feeling optimistic about the future of democratic rule in Israel. Among those, 41% of Jews expressed this sentiment whereas only 19% of Arabs interviewed did.

In terms of Israel's overall situation, the percentage of interviewees who characterized it as bad or very bad rose from 30% to 47% since October 2022 when the question was last asked.

The number of respondents who described Israel's situation has remained stable at approximately 25%, which means that the shift occurred among those whose opinions were previously neutral.

In the Jewish population, the proportion who describe the situation as bad or very bad has increased from 28% to 43%, and in the Arab public, it has risen from 41% to 66%.



Netanyahu’s Move to Fire Security Agency Chief Threatens New Crisis in Israel

Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
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Netanyahu’s Move to Fire Security Agency Chief Threatens New Crisis in Israel

Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)
Ronen Bar, new chief of the Israel Security Agency (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet), enters a vehicle at an undisclosed location in central Israel on October 11, 2021. (AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to dismiss a top security official has threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis, with opponents on Monday organizing protests and a former court president warning against the "dangerous" move.

Netanyahu on Sunday cited an "ongoing lack of trust" as the reason for moving to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, following a similar bid by the government to oust the attorney general.

Bar, who has been engaged in a public spat with Netanyahu in recent weeks over reforms to the agency, suggested there were political motives behind the premier's decision to ask the government to dismiss him.

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara -- the executive's top legal adviser who has often taken positions that clashed with those of Netanyahu's government -- said the move was "unprecedented" and its legality needed to be assessed.

Bar said it stemmed from his own refusal to meet Netanyahu's demands for "personal loyalty".

The agency led by Bar has been accused of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

Several opposition parties have already announced they will jointly petition the High Court against Bar's dismissal, and the attorney general said in a letter to Netanyahu that he could not initiate the process "until the factual and legal foundation of your decision is fully clarified".

Baharav Miara is herself under threat of a no-confidence motion submitted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has spearheaded efforts to reform the judiciary and curb the court's powers -- a plan that sparked major protests before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

Levin has accused Baharav Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary's independence, of "inappropriate conduct" and cited "significant and prolonged disagreements between the government and the attorney general".

The proceeding against the two figures promise to be lengthy, risking a repeat of the 2023 protest movement that was one of the most significant in Israel's history and had deeply fractured the country.

- 'Blow to national security' -

The Kaplan Force, a liberal umbrella organization which led the fight against the judicial reform, on Monday announced rallies in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this week to protest the dismissal of the Shin Bet head.

The move to sack Bar, who has been involved in negotiations over the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, comes at a crucial time for the talks.

The truce has largely held since January 19 despite an impasse in efforts to extend it.

Since the Gaza war began, Netanyahu has dismissed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, while several senior military officials have resigned including army chief Herzi Halevi.

Benny Gantz, an opposition figure who once served as defense minister under Netanyahu, said on X that "the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet is a direct blow to national security and a dismantling of unity within Israeli society, driven by political and personal considerations."

Former Supreme Court president Dorit Beinisch told Kan public radio that Netanyahu was leading "processes that are dangerous for society".

"We need to wake up, and to wake up in time," she said.

- 'Power-grab' -

For Netanyahu's allies, the move against Bar falls within the normal rights of the head of government.

"In what normal country is a special reason even needed to remove the head of an intelligence organization who is personally responsible for a massive intelligence failure that led to the greatest disaster in the history of Israel?" far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on Telegram.

Nahum Barnea, columnist for the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, warned of the dangers stemming from the clash between Netanyahu and Bar.

"A prime minister who has lost his brakes will rule as he sees fit, and his failed government will follow in his wake," he wrote.

"It is gradually inching us closer to a form of civil war... in which there is no trust and a refusal to obey in security organizations".

For Amir Tibon, writing for the left-wing daily Haaretz, "Israeli democracy is now in grave danger".

"It's up to Israelis to decide if they'll accept Netanyahu's hostile power-grab -- and how far they will go to stop it".