Israeli Poll Shows Majority Fear Election Interference and Prefer Avoiding Military Action in Iran

The Israeli Democracy Institute released a new July 2026 poll conducted by the Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, led by Professor Tamar Hermann, Dr. Lior Yohanan, and Yaron Kaplan. The survey captures Israeli public opinion on key political, security, and social issues.

Regarding Israel's stance on the US military campaign against Iran, 37% of respondents believe Israel should avoid military involvement and only respond if directly attacked. About 20% support Israel persuading the US to undertake a joint military operation, while 18% say Israel should join only if requested by the US. Another 16% favor unilateral Israeli strikes without US coordination. Political divisions are clear: around 60% of left-wing Jews prefer non-involvement unless attacked, while right-wing Jews show stronger support for proactive Israeli military action.

On the West Bank, 72% of Israelis expect a Palestinian popular uprising (intifada) soon, a significant rise from 59% in November 2025. Among Jews, about 80% foresee such unrest, compared to less than 40% of Arabs. Opinions on security forces’ handling of violent settlers remain stable; roughly 46% of Jewish respondents think security forces are too lenient, with right-wing Jews more likely to believe the response is either appropriate or too harsh.

Ahead of upcoming elections, 56% of Israelis favor primary elections to select party lists, consistent with last year’s results. However, Arabs show more divided preferences, with many supporting party leader appointments or selection committees. Concerns about election integrity are widespread: 72% of Jews and 58.5% of Arabs believe there is a threat to election fairness, with the left-wing Jewish camp most worried (90.5%).

The poll was conducted from July 28 to August 2, 2026, via internet and telephone interviews with 751 adults, representing the Israeli population aged 18 and over, with a margin of error of ±3.58%.