THE 2004 ISRAELI DEMOCRACY INDEX Auditing Israeli Democracy Attitudes of Youth
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The President's Conference June 2004 ISRAELI DEMOCRACY EXAMINED THE 2004 ISRAELI DEMOCRACY INDEX Auditing Israeli Democracy Attitudes of Youth Asher Arian,Shlomit Barnea, Pazit Ben-Nun AUDITING ISRAELI DEMOCRACY – 2004 Attitudes of Youth Asher Arian, Shlomit Barnea, Pazit Ben-Nun The Israel Democracy Institute is an independent body that assists the Knesset and its committees, government offices and institutions, local government bodies, and political parties through studies and proposals designed to bring about changes and reforms in their manner of operation. In addition, The Israel Democracy Institute fulfills its public charge through the presentation of comparative information on legislative topics and the various ways in which democratic regimes function. Likewise, it seeks to enrich public discourse and encourage new ways of thinking through the initiation of discussion on topics of current political, social and economic interest, both by bringing together legislators, administrators and academics and through the publication of research findings. The Guttman Center was established at The Israel Democracy Institute in 1998 with the transfer of The Guttman Institute for Applied Social Research to the IDI. Formed in 1949 by Professor Louis Guttman, The Guttman Institute was the pioneer in Israel of public opinion research and advances in social science methodology. The goal of The Guttman Center is to enrich research projects at the IDI and discussions of public policy with data-based information and analyses. The President's Conference June 2004 ISRAELI DEMOCRACY EXAMINED THE 2004 ISRAELI DEMOCRACY INDEX Auditing Israeli Democracy Attitudes of Youth Asher Arian, Shlomit Barnea, Pazit Ben-Nun The Guttman Center of The Israel Democracy Institute Editor-in-Chief: Uri Dromi Administrative Head, Publications Department: Edna Granit Library Editor: Yael Mosheiff Linguistic Editor: Miri Horowitz Translation: Sagir International Translations Ltd. Production Coordinator: Nadav Shtechman Design: Ron Haran Printed in Jerusalem, by Art Plus, Ltd. ISBN 965-7091-88-8 No portion of this book may be reproduced, copied, photographed, recorded, translated, stored in a data base, broadcast or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, optic, mechanical or otherwise. Commercial use in any form of the material contained in this book without the express permission in writing of the publisher is strictly forbidden. © 2004 the Israel Democracy Institute Printed in Israel 2004 Asher Arian is Scientific Director of the Guttman Center, at the Israel Democracy Institute and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Haifa. Shlomit Barnea and Pazit Ben-Nun are researchers at the Israel Democracy Institute. our website: www.idi.org.il Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables 6 Acknowledgements 7 A. Summary of Principal Findings 9 B. Description of the Research and its Goals 12 C. Democracy Indicators 15 1. Summary of Findings 15 2. Israel Democracy Index 2004 – Changes in the Indicators Compared with the 2003 Index 16 3. Selected Findings from the Index 19 D. Democracy Survey 28 1. Israeli Public Opinion According to the 2004 Democracy Survey, Compared with the 2003 Survey 28 2. Opinions of Israeli Youth According to the 2004 Youth and Democracy Survey – General Characterization of the Youth Population 36 E. Appendices 59 Appendix A: Democracy Index 2004 59 Appendix B: The 2004 Democracy Survey Compared with the 2003 Democracy Survey 62 Appendix C: 2004 Youth Survey Compared with the 2004 Democracy Survey 69 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1 Structure of the Index 13 Figure 2 Israel’s Relative Ranking among Democracies in the Sample 15 Figure 3 International Comparison of Political Corruption 19 Figure 4 Political Corruption in Israel, 1996 – 2004 20 Figure 5 International Comparison of Political Participation 21 Figure 6 Freedom of the Press in Israel, 1994 – 2003 23 Figure 7 International Comparison of Freedom of the Press 23 Figure 8 International Comparison of Economic Freedom 24 Figure 9 Economic Freedom in Israel, 1995 – 2004 25 Figure 10 Inequality of Income Distribution in Israel, 1993 – 2003 26 Figure 11 Social Rifts in Israel, 1992 – 2004 27 Figure 12 Satisfaction with Democracy 28 Figure 13 Pride in Belonging to the Country 30 Figure 14 Support for Socialism 31 Figure 15 Support for Equal Rights for Arabs 33 Figure 16 Trust in Institutions 34 Figure 17 Inter-group Relations in Israel 36 Figure 18 Agreement with Non-Democratic Statements 37 Figure 19 Feeling a Connection to the State: Patriotism 40 Figure 20 Main Reasons for Emigration from Israel 41 Figure 21 Trust in Institutions 42 Figure 22 Level of Involvement in Politics, Interest and Political Knowledge, 47 among Adults and Youth Figure 23 Current Level of Interest in Politics among Youth, in Comparison with the Level 48 of Interest among Youth in Various Democracies and in Comparison with Israeli Youth in 2000 Figure 24 Support for Refusal to Evacuate Settlers 50 Figure 25 The Five Rifts in Israel, by a Breakdown of Youth from Different Sides of the Divided Sectors 52 Figure 26 Satisfaction with Formal Education for Democracy, by Type of School 55 Figure 27 Perceptions of Youth Characteristics Regarding Different Aspects of Democracy – Israeli Youth 56 and Adults Table 1 Israel Democracy Index 2004, Changes in the Indicators Compared with the 2003 Index 17 Table 2 Belonging to a Community and Connection to the State, among Israeli Youth and Adults 39 Table 3 The Institution that Best Safeguards Democracy, among Israeli Youth and Adults 43 Table 4 The Agency that Best Safeguards Democracy, among Israeli Youth and Adults 44 Table 5 Political Participation, among Israeli Youth and Adults 46 Table 6 Patterns of Protest and Opposition, among Israeli Youth and Adults 49 Table 7 Social Rifts, among Israeli Youth and Adults 51 Acknowledgements This booklet has been prepared for the President’s Conference, taking place for the second time at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. We thank the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Moshe Katsav, for graciously hosting this endeavor. We also thank the staff of the President’s Residence for their assistance in organizing the conference. We thank Ms. Sandra Fine, Director of the Legislative Information Center at the Israel Democracy Institute, for collecting the research data. Summary of Principal Findings 9 Summary of Principal Findings 9 A. Summary of Principal Findings The picture of Israeli youth in 2004 that emerges between different groups and sectors, and like from the survey is that of relatively conformist adults, youth also believe that the present young people who are not all that different from national schisms are quite serious, although the general population. In certain aspects, Israeli Jewish youth see these rifts as more serious than youth reflects feelings and perceptions that are do Arab youth. more positive than those of adults regarding the status of Israeli democracy and express greater Regarding Israeli youth’s satisfaction with confidence in traditional formal institutions than their civics classes in preparing them to be adults, such as the Knesset, political parties and good citizens, it was found that 57% of young the Histadrut Labor Federation. In contrast with people expressed satisfaction with their civics this, the level of interest and knowledge among classes, compared with 41% of adults who young people, their support for those who refuse expressed similar satisfaction. When youth is to obey orders while in the army and their desire divided according to type of educational setting, for strong leadership serve as warning signs it appears that pupils in the state-religious that cannot be ignored. The two sides of Israeli education system are the most satisfied, followed youth presented suggest they have a different by those in state schools, and in third place perception of democracy, one which is more pupils in private or democratic schools. formal than it is substantive and ethical. This perception, which focuses on the framework In examining their connection to the state and the rather than the substance of democracy, leads tendency to leave Israel on a permanent basis, the one to ponder the future of Israeli democracy. youth’s sense of belonging and its connection to the land and the State of Israel are weaker than Israeli youth, as seen from the survey, is those of adults and the security situation features conformist, devoted to the state, and in some of as a primary motive for emigration (as opposed the categories examined, not essentially different to the economic situation, which is the primary from the adult generation. Nonetheless, we found motivation among adults). several tendencies that characterize the youth as a distinct group from the rest of society, including In connection with the degree of trust in some that divide youth among themselves. government authorities and institutions, it was found that the three institutions in which youth In general, it was found that youth express express their trust are the IDF, the Supreme greater satisfaction towards democracy than Court and police, although their level of trust adults and are more moderate in their anti- in the first two is less strong than that of adults. democratic tendencies. Additionally, with It is interesting to note that young people place regard to their assessments of Israel’s social greater trust than adults in the Knesset, political rifts, young people expressed a more positive parties, the Histadrut and the Rabbinate; and they feeling regarding the nature of the relationship have a greater tendency than adults to perceive 10 The 2004 Israeli Democracy Index Summary of Principal Findings 11 the Knesset, rather than the Supreme Court, A downward trend is also apparent in public as the institution that safeguards democracy. affiliation to the state, particularly among new immigrants, which is reflected in their sense of Disturbing findings were seen when examining identity with the state and their level of pride in youth rates of participation and degree of their Israeli citizenship.