Israelis Split Along Religious Lines Regarding The War In Gaza
Israelis are divided along religious lines when it comes to the ongoing war in Gaza, according to a new study.
In fact, the Pew Research Center survey released on Thursday found that Israelis “perceive the war in vastly different ways” — and much of it depends on their religious backgrounds.
One of the “starkest divides,” according to Pew, is between Jewish and Arab Israelis as well as observant and secular Jews.
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The survey found that Arab Israelis are “less likely” than Jewish ones to think Israel will succeed in achieving its war aims to defeat Hamas (38 percent to 76 percent) and “less optimistic” regarding the future of the country’s national security (21 percent to 63 percent).
Israeli Arabs, a majority of whom are Muslims and Christians, were also “much more likely” than Jewish citizens to say the country’s military response has gone too far (74 percent to 4 percent).
The differences aren’t limited to the ongoing war. Even the possible outcome has Israelis divided by religion.
Almost no Israeli Arabs (a paltry 3 percent) want Israel to govern the Gaza Strip after the war, while half of Israeli Jews think it should do so. A majority of Arabs would also like the residents of Gaza to decide who governs (37 percent), while only 8 percent of Jews favor that outcome.
The Pew study, conducted in March and early April, also found the following:
— 60 percent of Israelis disapprove of the way U.S. President Joe Biden is handling the war.
— 41 percent think Biden is “striking the right balance” between Israelis and Palestinians — although 27 percent of Israelis say he is “favoring Israelis too much.”
— 92 percent of Israeli Arabs have a “negative view” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That’s compared to 48 percent of Jews.
— Jewish and Arab Israelis are equally concerned the war could expand to other countries (61% in each group).
Pew found that about two-thirds of Israelis believe the country “will achieve its goals in the war against Hamas.”
The largest share, the poll found, said that Israel will definitely succeed (40 percent), while 27 percent said the Jewish state “will probably succeed.” Another 18 percent think Israel “will probably or definitely fail.”
The survey comes as Israel’s military said this week that it had seized control of an area along Gaza’s border with Egypt to cut off smuggling tunnels as it tries to destroy Hamas. The capture of the Philadelphi Corridor could complicate Israel’s relationship with Egypt.
“The Philadelphi Corridor served as the oxygen line of Hamas through which Hamas carried out weapons smuggling into Gaza on a regular basis,” said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israel’s military chief spokesman.
The latest death toll stands at 36,743 Palestinians and 1,139 people killed in Israel since the war began.
Optimism in how the war will end is also related to how the Israeli military is viewed and the amount of force that’s been used since the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Israelis who believe that the military response to Hamas has “been about right” are more likely to think Israel will succeed (86 percent) than those who think it “has not gone far enough” (76 percent) and those who think it “has gone too far” (25 percent).
Regarding the future, 53 percent said they are optimistic about their country’s national security prospects going forward.
That’s almost twice the share of Israelis who said they feel pessimistic (28 percent), while another 17% are not sure, the survey found.
Jewish Israelis are also three times more likely than Arab Israelis to have a positive outlook on the future of national security — 63 pecent of Jews said they are optimistic, while only 21 percent of Arabs agreed with that statement.
Among Israeli Jews, those who are more religiously observant expressed a “greater degree of optimism” for the future of Israel’s security. About eight-in-10 Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and Dati (religious) Jews said they are “optimistic,” compared to about half who identified as secular Jews.
Four-in-ten Israelis said Israel should govern the Gaza Strip once the war ends. The vast majority (77 percent) of observant Jews would prefer that Gaza be under Israeli control, while only 28 percent of secular Jews agreed.
A top Israeli official said the war was likely to last through the end of the year. The country’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said he’s “expecting another seven months of fighting” to destroy Hamas.
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.