The Givat Haviva Partnership Index, published today (January 6), examined the degree of support for Jewish-Arab political partnership. The Index will be presented in detail today at Givat Haviva’s annual conference for a shared society. The Index shows consistent opposition from most Jews to inclusion of an Arab party in a coalition. At the same time, a significant portion of Change Bloc voters support a coalition partnership with an Arab party and even members serving as ministers in the government. Of those in the Change Bloc opposed to a coalition partnership, about a quarter would support forming a coalition with outside support, while about a third (32%) express no opinion.
The findings:
Partnership in a Coalition:
Analysis of the data shows that Arab society shows 70% support for a coalition partnership, a significant increase compared to previous years (57% last year and 52% in 2024).
A breakdown by bloc (Jewish) shows that 43% of Change Bloc voters support Arab party participation in the coalition, while 95% of Netanyahu Bloc voters oppose it.
From an analysis by political camp (Jews), centrist voters are divided: 41% support Arab Knesset members joining a coalition compared to 47% opposed, 79% of left-wing voters are in support compared to 17% opposed, while among right-wing voters only 5% support Arab Knesset members joining a coalition and a clear majority (91%) oppose.
When analyzed by religious affiliation, 76% of the ultra-Orthodox oppose Arab party participation in a coalition, compared to 42% of secular Jews who support it. Analysis by age shows that half of the seniors (age 65 and over) support participation of an Arab party, compared to 14% of the young (ages 18-24) who oppose.
Support from outside – among those opposed to including an Arab party in the coalition:
Those opposed to including an Arab party in the coalition were asked whether they would agree to outside support for the coalition from the Arab parties.
More than half (54%) of Jews who oppose the participation of an Arab party in a coalition oppose relying on support of Arab parties from the outside, 30% of them do not know, and 16% of them favor support from outside the coalition.
Distinguishing between those who intend to vote for the Change Bloc and the Netanyahu camp, 29% of Change Bloc voters who oppose participation in the coalition favor outside support from an Arab party, compared to 39% who oppose, and about a third express no opinion. On the other hand, 68% of those who intend to vote for the Netanyahu Bloc who oppose participation in the coalition also oppose outside support from an Arab party, about a quarter of them (23%) express no opinion and only 9% of them support.
When broken down by political camp, more than a quarter of center-right voters who oppose coalition participation (26%) favor outside support from Arab parties, compared to 31% opposed, and a high percentage of 42% expressing no opinion. Among right-wing voters, only 12% of those who oppose a coalition partnership support outside support, the majority (65%) oppose it, and another 23% express no opinion.
Among those opposed to inclusion in a coalition, opposition among the Jewish public to Arab party support from outside increases with religious affiliation, with approximately 67% of the ultra-Orthodox opposing, 64% of the religious, and 61% of the traditional, while approximately 29% of the secular are in favor.
Ministerial Appointments
The Index also shows that among Jews who support including an Arab party in a coalition, 65% support its members serving as government ministers. Among Arab citizens, the figure is higher: 88% of those who support coalition participation are also interested in having Arab ministers. This figure has been maintained since last year, and indicates stability in positions.
