Poll: One-third of Israeli youth want to live abroad

The survey, carried out in anticipation of the National Zionist Youth Congress set to kick off on Monday, was conducted among 400 Israeli adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18.

According to the poll, a whopping 70% of Israeli teens feel that Israeli-Arabs are not loyal citizens of the State. Nearly half of those questioned said that if Israeli-Arabs completed national service, they would feel differently.

Seventy-three percent responded that they have full confidence in the IDF compared to a mere 21% that said they only have a certain degree of confidence and 5% that have no faith at all in the military.

As far as politics was concerned, the picture was much bleaker. Only 11% said they trusted the political leadership compared with 34% who said they had some confidence and 54% who answered they had no faith at all.

Forty-one percent remarked that the Israeli government was more corrupt than governments abroad and 18% said it was less corrupt. A third answered that there was no difference.

Jews first, Israelis second

The majority of those polled – 73% – defined themselves first and foremost as Jews and secondly as Israelis.

Twenty-seven percent said that serving in the IDF and preserving Jewish values were concepts they most closely identified with Zionism.

Half of those questioned believe that those who finish national service should receive the same benefits as those who finish military service in the IDF. Forty-six percent said that discharged soldiers should receive more benefits.

Moshe Ben Attar, the director-general of the Israeli Zionism Council, noted that the survey showed that "many adolescents feel torn and a sense of not belonging to the nation and heritage and there is a need to enact a touch measure that will define the next generation's sense of belonging to the State and the need to identify with its values."