Surveys
/ Strengthening Israel's Foreign Policy
The 14th annual public opinion survey of the Mitvim Institute on Israel’s foreign policy was completed in early June 2026. The survey was carried out by the Rafi Smith Institute, in collaboration with the Friedrich-EbertStiftung Foundation, among a representative sample of Israel’s adult population (844 men and women, Jews and Arabs, sampled according to Israel’s current political breakdown), with a sampling error of 3.4%. The 2026 Foreign Policy Index, published several months before the elections to the 26th Knesset, comes as Israel remains embroiled in ongoing conflicts of varying intensity with Iran, in Lebanon, and in Gaza.
It is also being released amid an unprecedented diplomatic crisis and a sharp deterioration in Israel’s international image. In addition to examining public attitudes toward the war in Gaza and Israeli policy in the West Bank, the survey seeks to assess public views regarding Israel’s desired strategy in the other two main arenas of fighting over the past year – Iran and Lebanon. It focuses on public attitudes toward the possibility of moving from a military campaign to a future arrangement in each of the three arenas. The survey also examines public attitudes toward the state of Israel’s relations with the Arab world and Turkey following these campaigns. At the same time, the Index examines the public response to the possibility of shaping a new relationship with longstanding enemies to the north – Syria and Lebanon. A distinct focus of the survey is the ongoing deterioration of Israel’s international standing and public perceptions of Western measures toward Israel in response to the war in Gaza.
This document presents the survey’s findings in four chapters: Israel’s foreign relations; Israel and the Palestinians; Israel’s relations with regional actors; and Israeli policy toward Iran, Lebanon, and Syria.
* Data marked with * refer to respondents with an opinion, excluding those who did not express an opinion.
** This refers to voters for Beyachad, Yashar, and Yisrael Beiteinu. The voter analysis refers to the Jewish sector only.
