Plurality of far-right voters oppose government with ultra-Orthodox parties — poll |
A plurality of Israelis planning to vote for Zionist parties — including those planning to back a pair of far-right factions — oppose forming a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties after the upcoming election, according to a poll published Thursday on The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site, Zman Yisrael.
The survey was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, after Zionist opposition leaders — whose parties still fall short of a majority, according to the poll — sparred over the possibility of an alliance with Haredim, whom they abhor for pursuing a statutory exemption from military service.
Large majorities of all Zionist opposition party backers were opposed to forming a government with Haredi parties, the poll showed.
But opponents of a government with Haredi parties also included large shares of respondents who support Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit, the far-right parties currently in a coalition with Likud and ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism.
Among supporters of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism, 38.9 percent said they oppose a government with ultra-Orthodox parties, an identical number said they support a government with ultra-Orthodox parties and 22.2% said they have no opinion on the matter.
Among supporters of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, 59.1% said they oppose such a government, 22.7% said they support such a government and 18.2% said they have no opinion.
Among supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, meanwhile, just 24.2% said they oppose a government with ultra-Orthodox parties, while 56% said they support such a government and 19.8% said they have no opinion.
The traditionalist Arab party Ra’am — which most Zionist opposition leaders have rejected as a coalition partner despite previously governing with it — also had a plurality of supporters who were in favor of a government with ultra-Orthodox parties, with 42.9% in favor, 28.6% against and another 28.6% with no opinion.
Respondents who support fellow Arab-majority party Hadash-Ta’al — an alliance of communist and secularist factions — were more ambivalent, with 47.4% saying they had no opinion on the matter, while 31.6% said they oppose a government with the ultra-Orthodox and 21.1% saying they support such a government.
In the Zionist opposition, while majorities of all parties’ supporters opposed governing with the ultra-Orthodox, that majority was significantly........