Poll finds Oct. 7 a central factor in most Israelis’ election decision-making

Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught will be a central issue for the majority of Israelis in deciding which party to vote for in the Knesset election later this month, according to a poll published Tuesday. Roughly 62% of Israelis said October 7 would be very central or fairly central to their decision-making when they head to the polls on October 27, the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) poll found. The issue’s centrality among the majority of Israelis who are Jewish was twice as high as it was among the Arab minority. The opposition claim that the government was responsible for the failures that led to the October 7 massacre and say they have failed to take responsibility, pointing to the government’s refusal to establish a state commission of inquiry. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to blame the security chiefs for the failures and highlights Israel’s subsequent achievements on the battlefield, Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms The poll was published one day before the three-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, in which some 1,200 people were massacred and another 251 were taken hostage into Gaza, sparking a war that has killed over 75,000 Palestinians. The latter figure is according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but the IDF has said it is generally accurate, adding that the ratio has been roughly two to three civilians killed for every dead terror operative. Despite the importance of the issue for Israelis, the split between supporters and opponents of the government that has remained in power since October 7 is largely the same. A separate poll published Monday by Channel 12 found that the bloc of parties willing to sit in a government headed by Netanyahu would receive 49 seats, while the bloc of parties opposed to the premier would win 67 seats. However, eight of those would come from the majority-Arab Joint List party and five of those would go to its more moderate foil, Ra’am — two parties with whom Netanyahu’s main rivals Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett have pledged not to form a government. Advertisement A further four seats would go to the Reservists, who aim to be kingmakers and unite elements of each bloc. The IDI poll also asked respondents which issue will have the greatest influence over their election decision-making. (Israel Democracy Institute) Among Jews, a party’s position on foreign affairs and security tops the list, while among Arabs, crime in Arab society is ranked most important. (Israel Democracy Institute) The IDI survey is part of its monthly Israeli Voice Index. It saw declines in levels of optimism about the future of Israeli democratic rule (from 40% to 36%), the future of national security (from 37% to 34%), the future of the economy (29% to 27%) and the future of social cohesion (21% to 19%). (Israel Democracy Institute) The share of optimists in the Jewish sample is larger than that in the Arab sample for all four topics, but each remained below 40%. (Israel Democracy Institute) The survey was conducted via the internet and by telephone between August 31 and September 3, with 605 men and women interviewed in Hebrew and 150 in Arabic. The margin of error was 3.57%. Help us report truthfully on social media As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos. This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world. If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism , please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting. — Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist Support our work Support our work Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this You're a dedicated reader We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE , as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members. Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel Join Our Community Join Our Community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 Top Haredi rabbi denounces Israeli state, religious soldiers; opposition rebukes him, notes ties to Netanyahu 2 Book review ‘You want to call Trump, Bibi?’: How incoming US president’s wrath was leveraged to close hostage deal 3 Shin Bet agents participating in interrogation of flydubai terrorist in UAE 4 Interview Bereaved by war, determined to heal, protect and revive Israel: Gadi Eisenkot’s prime ministerial mission 5 Shin Bet chief to far-right minister: The Palestinians do not burn the homes of Jews 6 Israel was prepared to shoot down flydubai jet during attempted terror attack — report 7 Hundreds of anti-Israel protests planned worldwide around October 7 anniversary 8 Most Arkia and Israir flights use planes and crews leased from foreign airlines, in arrangement okayed by PM read more: Israel Inside 2026 Israeli election polls October 7 IDI Israel Democracy Institute Benjamin Netanyahu Knesset 2023-2025 Israel-Hamas war If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. JOIN THE TOI COMMUNITY Already a member? Log in here close popup Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community Sign in or Register Paying ToI Community members are invited to comment on articles Email address * Please use the following structure: [email protected] Continue Or Continue with By joining you agree to the terms and conditions Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition back close popup Register to continue Email address * Change REGISTER Or Continue with back close popup Log in to continue Email address * Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.. Continue back close popup Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community Sign in or Register You are currently registered. Please join The Times of Israel Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits Only ToI Community members can comment below articles Email address * Password * Incorrect password. Please try again or choose an option below. Forgot your password? / Send me a login link Continue Sign in without joining Or Continue with close popup Check your email We sent an email to you at . It has a link that will sign you in. Click the link in that email to complete registration so you can comment. back close popup Join The Times of Israel Community Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits. Email address * Please use the following structure: [email protected] JOIN NOW! close popup Thank you! Now check your email You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.