Israelis overwhelmingly prefer Netanyahu to Bennett in handling of pandemic, says poll

Poll finds public liked Benjamin Netanyahu’s managing of the pandemic by a wide margin over Naftali Bennett.

By World Israel News Staff

Israelis prefer Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Covid pandemic over Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s management of the outbreak according to a Channel 12 poll released on Thursday.

The survey found that 43 percent preferred Netanyahu’s handling of the outbreak, compared to 21% who preferred Bennett. The remaining 36% had no preference or declined to respond.

Overall, 52% said the government was poorly managing the pandemic while 39% said the government was doing well.

In other Covid news, Israel rolled out the world’s first Covid booster shot campaign. The Ministry of Health gave its final approval for the booster shots amid the spreading Delta variant, and findings that the Pfizer vaccine’s effectiveness ebbs over time.

People who are 60 or older and were immunized at least five months ago are eligible for the third shot.

President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, kicked off the booster campaign on Friday morning in Jerusalem as a nurse administered their shots.

Health authorities in the U.S. and Europe are studying booster shots and have not yet approved of them.

Israel is currently dealing with 15,521 active cases, of which 151 are considered serious.

More than 5.3 million Israelis have received both vaccinations while another 5.7 million have been vaccinated once.

Overall, 6,446 Israelis have died of Covid.