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Solution to generations-old enigma: What turns Israelis on?
Israelis prefer a partner that listens, is thoughtful and courteous, with physical appearance rated only second on their list of passion inducers.
A poll released on Wednesday found the answer to a question that has preoccupied generations of single Jews: What turns Israelis on?
The survey, that polled 500 Israeli men and women aged 18-65, found that 23 percent of Israelis find pleasant behavior on the first date to be a main turn on.
This is particularly true for women, 30 percent of whom admitted that listening, courtesy and thoughtfulness were the key to arousing passion. Among men, only 16 percent said these qualities helped spark desire.
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Physical appearance ranked second, with 22 percent of Israelis saying it turned them on the most. More surprising was the fact that only 10 percent said sexual chemistry helped spark desire early in a relationship.
The poll also found that a sense of humor was among the least desirable attributes, with only 11 percent saying it leads to attraction initially.
Later on in the relationship, physical appearance turned into an even more minor factor: Only three percent said their long-term partner's physical appearance was the main inducer of desire.
Couples several years into the relationship viewed the way their partner behaved to be more imperative to the level of their attraction, with 27.5 percent of respondents saying pleasant behavior was important to keep the passion alive, while only 24 percent said love was the main factor that keeps a relationship going.
Some men placed emphasis on their partner's smile, with five percent of men and only 2.5 percent of women saying it was a main source of attraction.
What turns Israelis off
After looking into what helps fuel desire among Israelis, it's time to check what turns them off. Here, too, results were surprising. Only five percent said a long relationship with the same person causes a decline in desire. Boredom with the other person, meanwhile, was the number one cause to the loss of passion (23 percent).
Second on the list of "downers" is the lack of hygiene (20.6 percent), and third is the lack of love (21.5 percent).
Generally, most of those who said they were missing passion in their relationship (24.3 percent), said it was due to the lack of love.
Asked "can you re-spark lost passion?" most answered yes (87.7 percent). And Israelis are not the only ones optimistic in that area - 90 percent of Americans said the same in a poll conducted a year ago in the US.
Half of Israelis admitted there was no passion in their current relationship, but 80 percent of them said they believed it could be lit up again.
When asked how to rekindle the flame of passion, most (31 percent) offered to have an honest conversation about it with the other person, 20 percent believed romantic gestures could do the trick while 18 percent recommended a romantic getaway.
The poll also found that men think women are too addicted to their cellphones, with 10 percent saying the phone should be put aside when returning home, as a way of re-sparking the passion. Only five percent of women, meanwhile, agreed with that statement.
Half of Israelis who are married or in a long-term relationship feel they lack passion in their relationship, with 74 percent of them saying they were interested in a solution to bring back passion to their lives.
Couples who have been together for over 10 years said the lack of passion was very notable in their relationship, five times more than couples who have been together for less than 10 years (10 percent compared to two percent).
Age also played a role in the loss of passion - twice as many older couples, aged 50-65, reported the lack of passion than the younger 20-35 year old couples. But not all is lost, 46 percent said they refused to accept the situation and wanted a solution to introduce passion back into their lives.
