Almost half of Israelis, specifically 49%, do not believe that you can arrange the release of the remaining Gaza hostages while also toppling Hamas and removing them from their control over the Gaza Strip, an Israel Democracy Institute (IDI)’s Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research poll published on Thursday found.
IDI added that 46% “think or are certain” that this is possible to achieve.
The poll also found that 68% would prioritize returning the hostages, and 25% would prioritize toppling Hamas if they had to choose only one option.
The question had previously been asked in January 2024 and September 2024, and the most recent results also showed that the “share of those who favor bringing home the hostages as the most important goal has risen steadily, while the share who prioritize toppling Hamas has fallen.”
In January 2024, “around half the public thought that bringing the hostages home was the most important goal,” IDI stated.
IDI broke down the Jews polled in the survey by political orientation and found that 91% of those on the Left and 80.5% of those in the Center thought that bringing hostages home was more important than toppling Hamas, as compared to 52% of those on the Right.
Among those who believed toppling Hamas is the priority, 74% thought both goals could be achieved simultaneously, while 59% of those who believed returning hostages is the priority believed that they cannot be achieved simultaneously.
IDI also polled Israelis on other topics, including the “national mood,” tensions between the High Court of Justice and the prime minister over firing Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, police conduct at protests, amendments to the Judicial Selection Committee Law, and whether Israelis’ day-to-day lives have returned “back to normal.”
The National Mood
IDI assesses public optimism and pessimism in four categories: “the future of democratic rule, the security situation, Israel’s economic situation, and social cohesion.”
In the recent poll, IDI found that in all four cases, only a minority of respondents were optimistic.
The lowest share of optimists was in relation to social cohesion, with only 22% of Israelis feeling optimistic. This was not merely an average across sectors, but more consistent, as IDI found that 22% of Jewish respondents and 22% of Arab respondents felt this way.
A slightly higher percentage of Israelis polled were optimistic about Israel’s economy, at 25% of total respondents, breaking down into 26% of Jews an 23% of Arabs.
A higher, although still minority, proportion was optimistic about the future of democratic rule in Israel, with 38% of total respondents feeling optimistic. A higher proportion of Jewish respondents, at 39%, felt this way, as compared to 33% of Arab respondents.
Views of Israel’s security situation had the most overall optimism, with 39.5% of the total respondents feeling optimistic. However, this was split between 43.5% of Jewish respondents and only 20% of Arabs. This not only indicated the largest split between the two sectors, but also highlighted that Arabs feel less optimistic about the country’s security than their Jewish neighbors.
Within the Jewish respondents, a “noticeably higher” proportion of those on the Right were optimistic, as compared to the Center, and far higher than those on the Left.
A majority of right-leaning Jews were optimistic about the future of democratic rule and Israel’s security situation, IDI added.
Firing of Ronen Bar
IDI asked respondents two questions regarding the High Court of Justice and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to fire Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar.
Firstly, respondents were asked: “Recently, the Supreme Court issued an interim order preventing the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet. Some people argue that the Court does not have the authority to intervene in such a decision, and that the government is not obligated to obey the Court’s decision if it rules that the dismissal must be halted. What is your opinion?”
The poll found that 54% of Jews and 71% of Arabs believed that the government must abide by the court’s ruling.
On the other hand, 36% of Jews and 8% of Arabs stated that the prime minister does not have to abide by the ruling.
Almost all left-leaning voters insisted the court ruling must be followed, at 96.5%, with 73% of centrists agreeing. Just under a third of right-leaning voters agreed, at 32%.
The second question the poll asked about the court’s ruling was not obeyed, would you support or oppose “the protest movement should shift to civil disobedience, including blocking roads for extended periods of time, strikes, non-payment of taxes?”
The poll found that 41% of Jews and 52% of Arabs supported civil disobedience in this scenario.
This included 86% of left-leaning respondents, 57% of centrists, and 21% of right-leaning respondents.
Police conduct at protests
The poll repeated a question asked by IDI in November 2024, namely does “Israel Police maintain the correct balance between freedom of protest and public order considerations” including freedom of movement?
A majority of both Jews and Arabs do not agree that the police are balancing the situation.
The proportion of Jews who believe this increased between November 2024 and March 2025, while Arabs have significantly increased in this view from 44% in November to 70% in March.
Amending the Judicial Selection Committee Law
IDI also asked respondents if they support or oppose the Knesset passing an amendment to the Judicial Selection Committee Law, which gave a majority to the political representatives on the Committee at the expense of judges and representatives of the Israel Bar Association.
In total, 53% of respondents opposed this move due to the possibility of politicizing the judiciary and over-concentrating power in the hands of the legislative and executive branches of government.
However, 33% supported the move because “it strengthens governance and allows the government to operate more efficiently.”
The State Budget
The poll also asked respondents whether they felt the recently passed state budget was based on “objective, professional economic considerations” or if it “is designed to serve the narrow interests of certain groups.is designed to serve the narrow interests of certain groups?”
Almost two-thirds of respondents felt that it served narrow interests, at 65%, as compared to 22.5% thinking it was based on professional, objective economic considerations.
When divided by religious affiliation, only haredi Jews had a majority who believed that the budget was objective.
However, the poll found large differences based on a breakdown of the political party respondents voted for in 2022.
While 42% of Shas respondents and 62% of United Torah Judaism respondents viewed the budget as objective, only 37% and 36% of Likud and Religious Zionism respondents, respectively, agreed.
An “overwhelming majority” of all opposition party voters believed the budget served the narrow interests of certain groups.
‘Back to normal?’
The poll asked what extent respondents “personal life” such as work, media habits, social activities, and other aspects has “returned to normal or close to normal.”
While a majority of all Jewish respondents felt their lives were returning to normal, there was a disparity based on political alignment.
Right-leaning respondents felt the most widespread return to normal, at 77%, as compared to 64% of centrists and 55% of left-leaning respondents.
The question had also been asked in December 2024 when approximately three-quarters of Jews and just under half of Arab respondents reported a return to normal.
Hikes, trips, and leisure activities during Passover
Given that the poll occurred two weeks before the Passover holiday, when families often go on hikes and other leisure activities, IDI asked respondents if they were planning such activities this year, compared to whether they would have planned such activities before the Israel-Hamas War.
The poll found that 37% were planning their regular amount of leisure activities, while 51% were planning to hold such activities but to a lesser extent.
However, this 51% further broke down into 29% that were reducing their activity due to the security situation, and 22% who were doing so due to their economic situation.
The poll surveyed 598 Jews and 150 Arabs aged 18 or over between March 31 and April 6, with a sampling error of ±3.58% at a confidence level of 95%. Field work was carried out by Shiluv I2R.
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