66% oppose granting voting right to Israelis living abroad
Ynet-Yesodot survey reveals haredi population is alone in supporting prime minister's proposal. Almost 70% of respondents believe Law of Return still relevant
The prime minister's proposal to grant Israelis living abroad the right to vote in the Knesset elections has provoked stormy discussion regarding how much influence should be given to those who will not be directly affected by the results of the vote.
And what does the public think? A survey conducted for Ynet and the Religious-Zionist organization Yesodot has revealed that a decisive majority is against.
The survey, carried out by Panels Ltd., interviewed 507 respondents as a representative sample of adult Jews in Israel (sampling error ±4.4%).
The first part of the survey investigated the public's position regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's initiative. Some 66% of respondents said they oppose the proposed law, while 28% were in favor and 6% said they had not yet made up their minds.
Subdivision according to religious categories revealed that the ultra-Orthodox population is the only one with a majority in favor of granting voting rights to Israelis living abroad (55%). In contrast, 61% of those describing themselves as religious, 65% of those calling themselves traditional, and 70% of those defining themselves as secular said they are against the proposal.
Respondents were then presented with the following statements relating to the rights of Diaspora Jews, and were requested to indicate the level of their agreement with each statement.
Arab citizens have more rights than NY Jews
Some 56% denied the statement (35% "entirely disagree" and 21% "disagree to a certain extent") while 40% agreed (25% "agree to a certain extent" and 15% "agree very much"). A further 4% said they had no opinion on the matter. While 50% of secular Jews said that Arab Israelis have more rights than Jews outside Israel, a clear majority of traditional, religious and haredi respondents thought otherwise.
All Diaspora Jews have a right to vote
Some 75% disagreed and only 22% agreed, while 3% had no opinion. Here the haredi respondents were in clear contrast to the other groups, with 50% agreeing that Jews who are not citizens should have the right to vote.
Jews throughout world can vote on fateful issues
The respondents were given examples such as the Law of Return and the status of the Western Wall and Temple Mount. Here too the majority were against: 62% opposed the statement and 33% in favor, with the balance roughly maintained throughout the religious subcategories.
Law of Return is outdated
What is the status of the law that grants every Jew the right to make aliyah and receive citizenship? Some 69% disagreed (44% "entirely disagree" and 35% "disagree to a certain extent"), while 27% agreed with the statement. Here too the balance was roughly equal throughout the subcategories, ranging from 60% against (haredi respondents) to 75% against (religious respondents).
Compromise proposal
Yesodot Director Shoshi Becker noted, "The bottom line is that most of the public is against allowing Israelis abroad to vote. There is no big difference between the different sectors except for the haredi sector, which consistently gives preference to Jewishness over Israeliness. The religious sector stands out in its identification with involving Diaspora Jews in deciding fateful issues – an echo of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook's claim that Eretz Israel was given to the Jewish people for eternity and we have no right to discuss its fate."
"It seems to us that the special character of the Jewish people obliges us to integrate the Jewish aspect with the Israeli aspect, but not to involve Diaspora Jews in questions regarding Israel's internal affairs. Regarding the actual proposal being discussed, it is accepted in some other democracies on the understanding that many people are abroad for reasons connected to work. Perhaps we should make the vote conditional on visiting Israel at least once within a given time period, which would show that the connection with Israel is being maintained."
