MESOP MIDEAST WATCH Analysis: Why Public Support for Israeli Army Has Reached a 13-year-low

Though Israeli criticism of the army has spiked in recent weeks, it turns out all state institutions have lost public confidence since the COVID pandemic began – Amos Harel HAARETZ – Jan. 7, 2022

– On Monday afternoon this week, Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi devoted a large part of the weekly General Staff Forum meeting to the issue of the public’s confidence in the IDF. The background to the discussion is the growing public criticism of the army, particularly in relation to issues that in the past were considered “soft” and less critical, such as soldiers’ service conditions (medical care, transportation, food). The impression of a somewhat hostile atmosphere taking hold in segments of public opinion was heightened in the wake of two surveys by the Israel Democracy Institute. The first of them, which was reported here last November, found that the public was worried about the IDF’s attitude toward the soldiers and about its economic management. For the first time, the annual survey showed that fewer than half of Israelis support the continuation of the “people’s army” model in which there is theoretically universal conscription.

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