TROUBLE ON THE HOME FRONT!
February 20, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
The morale and dissatisfaction of the Israeli population, both civilian and military, has been on the decline since the disablement of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and quite rapid especially since the conflict with Hezbullah last year. The two articles which follow, one beginning this year and the other this week, illustrate the general frustration occurring across the nation.
Begin Jerusalem Post Article
77% of Israelis dissatisfied with Olmert
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST
January 3, 2007
According to a poll taken by the Dahaf Institute for the Knesset Channel, 77 percent of Israelis are dissatisfied with Olmert’s performance as prime minister.
Forty seven percent of the 420 respondents asked to grade Olmert on his performance gave the prime minister a grade of “very poor,” 30% gave him a grade of “fairly bad,” and 20% graded him as “good.” Only one percent thought Olmert was doing a “very good” job.
Only one percent of those asked responded that they think Olmert’s performance has been “very good.”
In addition, 69% of the survey participants said that the prime minister’s leadership skills are not good, and 60% have a low opinion of Olmert’s integrity.
To the question, “How would you rate Olmert’s resilience under pressure?
” 62% of the respondents said he does not deal with pressure well, while 37% believe Olmert deals well under pressure.
Asked what would change their opinion of the prime minister, 45% said their appreciation of the prime minister would improve if he would remove Defense Minister Amir Peretz from his post. Only four percent said they would not appreciate such a move.
Fifty-one percent of the respondents said Peretz’s dismissal would not affect their judgment of the prime minister.
Twenty percent said they would like Olmert to dismiss IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, as opposed to six percent of participants who said firing the army chief would decrease their appreciation for the PM.
Begin Israel News Net Article
Public Trust in Government Plummeting
2 Adar 5767, February 20, 2007 06:24
by Hana Levi Julian
(IsraelNN.com) A new poll published by the Center for the Study of Crime Law and Society at the University
of Haifa has revealed that only 14 percent of the Jewish Israeli public has complete trust in the Israel Police Force.
Professor Arye Rattner, director of the Center, said by contrast, that more than double that number, 38.5 percent of those surveyed expressed a total lack
of trust in police.
The numbers have steadily dropped since 2002, when 50 percent of the public reported that they trusted the police force and only 13 percent expressed a lack of trust.
Within a year, the number of Israelis who expressed a high level of trust in police had dropped to 36 percent, although the number of those who said they did not trust law enforcement officers remained at 13 percent.
Prof. Rattner said the statistics are ominous signs that the social fabric of the Jewish State is being strained to a point that the damage may soon cause a rise in crime and social services statistics.
“The results of the survey point to a serious blow to the legitimacy the Israeli public grants – or doesn’t grant – to the police,” said Rattner. “This loss of legitimacy may lead to demonstrations of contempt for the rule of law and a decrease in the level of respect for and compliance with the law,” he added.
Researchers questioned 1,625 Jewish Israelis over the past several weeks as part of a multi-year study that has tracked the level of trust in the country’s police force since 2000.
F aith in
a different sector of Jewish leadership has also dropped to record lows, according to a Geocartographia poll released this week.
An overwhelming majority of 74.4 percent of the respondents said they favor dissolving the Knesset, the highest figures since former Labor Prime Minister Ehud Barak was forced to call elections less than two years after being voted into office.
In a Geocartographia poll conducted in November 2006, the majority of respondents said they were in favor of the resignations of then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz and Labor Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who has remained in his post. More than half of the respondents – 53 percent – said that Kadima Prime Minster Ehud Olmert should resign his post or call new elections.
Within two months, Halutz resigned.
Peretz has remained. Olmert has continued in his post, although the Prime Minister is currently under investigation on allegations of corruption in previous government posts.
Former Justice Minister Chaim Ramon was forced to resign his post after being charged with sexual misconduct.
Ramon was later convicted.
Recent polls have showed that if elections were held today, the Kadima party would shrink to a bare few seats in
the Knesset.
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