Majority of Israelis from center to right favor judicial reform – poll

The Opposition has stated that those in favor of the reforms do not understand their contents. The survey results dispute this claim.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

While the Opposition claims that most Israeli citizens are against the judicial reforms initiated by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a survey last week by Direct Polls and Channel 14 tells a different story.

The poll represents citizens from the center to the right of the political map, which was shown in the November elections to be the majority of the country.

When voters from the center-right were asked to what extent there is a need to fix the judicial system, 53% answered that there was a strong need, and 11% said there was somewhat of a need.

A whopping 91% of right-wing voters supported Levin’s reforms in general, as did 61% from the center-right.

Even among those who voted for the Opposition’s National Unity party, over a quarter (26%) were in favor of changes, as were a fifth of those who identify as centrists.

The Opposition has stated that those in favor of the reforms do not understand their contents. The survey results dispute this claim as well.

For example, a solid majority of 63% agree that the opinion of the attorney-general should be advisory rather than binding.

On the issue of whether the peoples’ representatives should constitute the majority of the Judges Nominating Committee, 85% of right-wing and 49% of center-right voters said yes, while around a quarter (24%) of National Unity supporters agreed.