(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Israel agree with a proposal issued by a far-right party that would make individual civil rights conditional upon a declaration of loyalty to the state, according to a poll by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 57 per cent of respondents support the idea put forward by the Israel Our Home party, while 37 per cent oppose it.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Israel agree with a proposal issued by a far-right party that would make individual civil rights conditional upon a declaration of loyalty to the state, according to a poll by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 57 per cent of respondents support the idea put forward by the Israel Our Home party, while 37 per cent oppose it.
Israel’s governing Kadima party held a leadership ballot in September 2008, to find a replacement for then Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who was facing corruption charges. Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni defeated transportation minister Shaul Mofaz in a close race to become Kadima’s new leader. Livni was supposed to take over as Israel’s prime minister, but was unable to assemble a government. A snap election was called for Feb. 10.
Results from the February ballot placed Kadima in first place with 28 seats in the Knesset, followed by Likud with 27, Israel Our Home with 15, and Labour with 13.
According to Israeli law, the president must ask the party deemed "more capable" of forming a government to do so. On Feb. 20, Israeli president Shimon Peres asked Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu to assemble a new administration.
Netanyahu served as prime minister from June 1996 to July 1999, and resigned from Ariel Sharon’s cabinet—where he held the finance portfolio—after opposing the "Disengagement Plan."
Israel Our Home leader Avigdor Lieberman has said that all Israelis, including Israeli-Arab citizens, should be forced to demonstrate that they are loyal to the Jewish state as a condition for retaining citizenship.
On Mar. 16, Netanyahu announced that a coalition accord between Likud and Israel Our Home has been reached. The terms include the appointment of Lieberman as Israel’s next foreign minister.
Yesterday, European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana hinted at possible problems in the continental group’s relations with Israel, saying, "We will be ready to do business as usual, normally with a government in Israel that is prepared to continue talking and working for a two-state solution. If that is not the case, the situation would be different."
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose a law proposed by the Israel Our Home party which makes civil rights conditional upon a declaration of loyalty to the state?
|
Support |
57% |
|
Oppose |
37% |
|
Not sure |
6% |
Source: Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 602 adult Israelis, conducted from Mar. 1 to Mar. 3, 2009. Margin of error is 4 per cent.
