Peace Index - July 2022
The Partnership with Ra’am in the Bennett- Lapid Coalition
- After the fall of the Bennett-Lapid coalition, clear differences can be seen in the way Jews and Arabs summarize the effect of the partnership with Ra’am and their support for the inclusion of an Arab party in the next coalition.
- More than half of the Jewish public considers that the partnership between Ra’am in the coalition harmed Jewish society and Israeli society in general. However, a large majority of left-wing voters and half of those in the political center think that the partnership advanced Israel society in general, while a great majority of moderate right-wingers, and rightists think that the partnership was harmful. Among the Arab public in Israel, the most common reply was that the partnership advanced Arab and Jewish society and Israeli society in general, along with a large number – between a quarter and a third – who did not express an opinion. Among Arabs who did express an opinion, about half of the liberals felt that the partnership advanced all segments of society while two-thirds of the conservatives felt this way.
- Regarding the contribution of the partnership to government functioning, the most common response among the Arab public was that the partnership advanced the ability of the government to deal with civil-economic issues, but when asked about the contribution to state security, the most frequent reply was that the respondents did not know. Among the Jewish public, those on the right felt that the partnership harmed the functioning of the government, both when considering economic and civil issues, as well as state security. In contrast, more than half of the centrists and a great majority of those on the left thought that the partnership had contributed with regard to economic-social issues, but when relating to security questions – the great majority of centrists, like those on the right, felt that the partnership had harmed state functioning.
- When we asked about the integration of Arab parties into the next coalition, with no connection to who would form the coalition, the great majority of rightists opposed any inclusion, while centrists mostly supported inclusion – and especially, with regard to the Ra’am party. Leftists supported the integration of any Arab party. Among the Arab public, as expected, there was support for integration but almost a third did not express an opinion on the matter.
- About a third of the Jews and Arabs think that the rightwing of the coalition led to the disintegration of the government, a reply that was more common than blaming either the opposition or the leftist party members of the coalition. That was also the most common answer among all ideological groups – right, center and left.
