The Bnai Brith World Center Seventh Annual Survey on Contemporary Israeli Attitudes toward Diaspora Jewry found that a majority of Israeli Jews 52 percent thought that Israel should strive to be a Jewish democratic state. Sixteen percent felt that Israel should strive to be a liberal democratic state, another 16% strove for a Jewish state, while only 13% thought Israel should be a democratic state. The poll, which encompassed 507 Jewish respondents, 18 years of age or older, found Israelis split on the question of whether the U.S. had helped or impeded the peace process with the Palestinians. Only 1% of the public felt that the U.S. "considerably promoted" progress in recent years, while 32% felt that the U.S. "somewhat promoted" progress, 26% felt that the U.S. somewhat impeded progress and 8% thought that the U.S. had significantly impeded progress. Just over half of the respondents (51%) thought that the most efficient way for the government to combat global anti-Semitism is to encourage immigration to Israel. Fifty-six percent of the respondents said that they would support the establishment of a so-called "Jewish parliament" a new statutory body located in Israel that would represent the Jewish people in the Diaspora, while 23% were against it. Among Kadima voters, 88% were in favor of this Jewish parliament and 13% were against, 63% of Labor voters were in favor, with 28% against, and 83% of Shas voters were in favor, with 17% against. However, most Israelis were opposed to representation of Diaspora Jews in Israel's Knesset. When asked whether they support a mechanism by which a few Knesset members would be elected by Israeli citizens living abroad, only 29% of the respondents were in favor, while 51% were against. A similar mechanism under which a few Knesset members would be elected by Diaspora Jews was rejected by an even bigger majority: 63% were opposed while 21% were in favor. An overwhelming majority of the respondents 80% voiced support for allocating some of their tax money to fund programs such as Taglit-Birthright Israel and Masa Israel Journey, to build support for Israel among Diaspora Jews by funding trips to Israel for Jewish youth. Among Shas voters, the support for funding these programs with tax money stood at 100%. But the poll indicated that there has been a sharp decline in Israeli willingness to allocate tax money to helping Diaspora Jewish communities, especially in times of financial crisis. The support declined from 59% in 2009 to 46% in 2012. An overwhelming majority of Israelis (76%) disagreed with Peter Beinarts call on American Jews to boycott the settlements while only 31% agreed with Beinarts statement that liberal ideals outlined by Israel's founders were brutally flouted." "This survey has demonstrated the enduring connection between Israelis and Diaspora Jews, Alan Schneider, the director of the Bnai Brith World Center said in a statement. Clearly, Israelis are committed to finding a vehicle for including and expanding the opinions and participation of Diaspora Jews in Israel. The survey was conducted by KEEVOON Research on June 20; it has a margin of error of 4.5%.
