The data show that the share of Israelis reporting high concern for their personal safety rose from 22 percent before the war to 45 percent afterward.

By TPS

Despite a widening war with Iran, Israelis have a growing sense of optimism about personal safety, national security, and their country’s future, a survey released on Wednesday found.

The findings point to a complex shift in national morale as Israelis weigh the risks of conflict against the belief that the confrontation could reshape the region, Dr. Gayil Talshir of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Agam Labs, which conducted the study, told The Press Service of Israel.

“It shows the complexity of the Israeli mind. On the one hand, there is a sharp rise in concern for personal and national safety, while on the other hand, there is an understanding that toppling the Iranian regime could be a game changer, and hence the optimism for the future of Israel,” Talshir told TPS-IL.

Israel and the U.S. launched airstrikes on Iran’s leadership, military, and nuclear facilities on Saturday. Iran has since retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israel and across the Middle East.

The survey of 3,217 people was conducted from February 26, before the outbreak of the war, through March 3, after the conflict began, allowing researchers to compare attitudes before and after the start of hostilities.

The data show that the share of Israelis reporting high concern for their personal safety rose from 22 percent before the war to 45 percent afterward.

Fear regarding national security also increased, with nearly half of respondents reporting high concern compared with roughly one-third before the conflict began.

However, the survey found optimism climbed from 37 percent before the war to 50 percent after its outbreak.

Public support for the attack on Iran also remained strong, with 63 percent of respondents backing the strike while 24 percent opposed it.

Talshir said the findings reflect both resilience and the complexities of Israeli society during wartime.

“We surveyed national morale since October 7, 2023, the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. And what we saw is that national unity is very present in the first weeks of the war, but then it disintegrates. Because we are in a polarized society, it will be interesting to see whether national unity sentiment lasts this time,” she said.

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Most Jewish Israelis support government assistance to Jews abroad.

By JNS

Three-quarters of Jewish Israelis believe Israel is safer for Jews than other countries, up from 68% in May 2024, according to a poll released on Tuesday by the Israel Democracy Institute.

The December survey found that 76% of Jewish respondents considered Israel the safest location for Jews, while Arab Israelis were divided: 32% said Israel was safer for Arabs, 35% said abroad was safer and 29% viewed both as equally safe.

The Viterbi Center poll was conducted about two weeks after a terror attack targeting Sydney’s Jewish community.

Most Jewish Israelis support government assistance to Jews abroad, including pressuring foreign governments to ensure security for Jewish communities (90%) and sending Israeli emissaries (80%).

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Soldiers have uploaded videos to social media from combat zones, ignored safety rules, and dressed improperly without suffering necessary consequences.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

An IDF investigation has found that discipline is on the wane as the Israel-Hamas war drags on, due mostly to the operational attrition of various units, the army announced Wednesday after presenting its conclusions to the chief of staff.

The in-depth inquiry, led by Maj. Gen. (res.) Moti Baruch, had the mandate to “formulat[e] a detailed situational picture regarding the maintenance of operational discipline, the rules of conduct and norms… and the implementation of a proper military culture in combat units” fighting in the south in Gaza and in the north in Lebanon/Syria.

The internal situation in the units fighting on the Judea and Samaria front was not examined.

Operational and information security, perhaps the most important issue, has declined over time, and such phenomena as the soldiers’ use of cellphones in the field was not being as strictly denied as it had been.

“There were even cases where cellular devices were openly used in the combat zones,” the report stated, while noting that the problem was much more manifest in the southern than the northern fronts.

Soldiers have even uploaded videos onto social media “indicating the exact location of the units that operated there,” it said.

Hamas intelligence could theoretically use this information to attack those IDF forces. Israeli intelligence has found vast documentation of the terror organization having gained invaluable data on the IDF from social media prior to its invasion and massacre last October 7 that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

The report also blamed the long months of war for the occurrence of military accidents.

“Due to the operational fatigue of the various units that have been in combat for over a year and three months, there was a loosening of discipline and safety in the various units, which manifested itself in the improper use of resources and led to operational accidents that could have been prevented,” it said.

The breakdown in following safety rules included certain usages of weapons and explosives, and risky driving methods.

The inquiry was prompted by a November incident in which a civilian researcher and tour guide, Ze’ev Ehrlich, was killed along with a soldier in Lebanon after officers allowed his unauthorized entry to examine an important archaeological site. Hezbollah snipers shot them.

When delving into the issue of the entry of civilians into battle zones, the investigators found only “isolated” incidents of those who came in without permission and said that “these cases are being examined and handled.”

Other safety issues they examined included equipment donations that units received from concerned Jews both at home and abroad, as well as the greater laxity of dress codes, where “during the fighting, a phenomenon of widespread non-compliance developed in all areas.”

The report concluded with a string of recommendations to improve both discipline and safety, which were adopted on the spot by the chief of staff.

These included immediately holding day-long seminars on the subjects and having periodic refresher courses during the war, while enforcing punishments for those violating the safety and discipline orders, as this will “prevent accidents and safety incidents, save lives, and meet mission requirements.”

Another recommendation was to transfer forces from sector to sector to prevent attrition. While most divisions have been rotated between the northern and southern fronts, this has not been the case for Division 162, for example, which has been fighting in the Gaza Strip for the entire duration of the war.

The 11-officer team interviewed officers in combat units as well as generals, and talked to regular soldiers in the field, besides examining internal IDF reports on the issues.

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More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 12,000 have been injured in combat in Gaza, Lebanon and other fronts since Israel began its ground offensive last October.

By Asaf Elia-Shalev, JTA

A new website quietly launched by the Israeli military lets soldiers anonymously check whether their safety equipment complies with official standards, in a tacit admission both that donated gear is widespread, and that army-issued gear may be unsafe.

It’s the latest development in a debate that has gone on since the start of the war in Gaza over whether the army is adequately supplying troops with protective equipment.

The military has long claimed that it gives soldiers everything they need and has cast donated gear as potentially harmful. But it is now officially telling soldiers that if they are using certain army-issued combat gear, their lives could be in danger.

For example, the website says that any ceramic body armor plates manufactured before 2009 that were provided by the army must be replaced. So must any army-issued helmet made of metal.

Members of the volunteer network providing soldiers with hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of donated gear throughout the war have long tried to sound the alarm about troops being sent to battle with gear that’s outdated and unsafe.

For these civilian watchdogs, the launch of the website provides validation.

“The first step to address a problem is to admit that it exists,” said Daniel Mael, who leads a donation drive known as Unit 11741.

“While it is too late for many soldiers who fell due to subpar equipment, let’s hope that the website can usher in an era of further awareness about the need for safe equipment in the battlefield and that the IDF begins to provide safe gear to all of its combat soldiers and reservists.”

In the website’s Q&A section, the Israel Defense Forces confirms that the use of bad gear has had real consequences.

“There have been a number of cases where the use of equipment not meeting army standards caused combat injuries and even worse,” the website says. The statement does not say any such incident was tied to gear issued by the military.

More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 12,000 have been injured in combat in Gaza, Lebanon and other fronts since Israel began its ground offensive last October.

Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire agreement last month to end their conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel, but sporadic attacks from both sides have tested the truce.

Israel continues to maintain a large military presence in Gaza, fighting the remnants of Hamas. Talks between the two sides to pause the fighting and release Israeli hostages held in Gaza as well as Palestinian security prisoners in Israel have not borne fruit for more than a year.

According to official policy, which the army has done little to enforce, soldiers are prohibited from accepting donations. One of the concerns behind the prohibition is that it’s difficult to monitor dispersed donations to individual soldiers and units for compliance with safety standards.

The army spokesperson’s office did not respond to specific questions from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, releasing a statement that frames the website as a response to the reality of widespread gear donations.

“At the beginning of the war, due to the large-scale volunteering of reserve soldiers, a phenomenon emerged of bringing non-standard equipment into units,” the statement said.

“In light of this phenomenon, the IDF’s policy on the procedure for receiving equipment has been clarified, ensuring that all necessary checks are included and preventing risks to the forces due to operational ineffectiveness or safety hazards. At the end of November, a website was launched by the Ground Forces and the Ground Technology Division in the Technological and Logistics Directorate, with the purpose of providing a solution for checking the equipment’s compliance.”

The website invites anyone on the internet, without asking for identification, to answer a series of questions to see if a piece of gear is safe.

Only helmets, ceramic body armor plates and tactical goggles are covered, leaving out items like earplugs and fire-resistant tactical uniforms used, for example, in armored units.

The questions include: Was the item issued by the military or donated to you? How old is it? What material is it made of? Who’s the manufacturer? In the end, users get one of two results.

Either the item is “compliant” or it’s “non-compliant and endangers your life,” which means the soldier should request a replacement.

Some soldiers say they have been issued newer gear that later suffered severe damage that could compromise effectiveness.

But none of the questions concern the condition of the gear, so a new army-issued Kevlar helmet that has been dented or punctured by a bullet would pass the test, which some have flagged as a problem.

“They’re basically telling you, ‘Don’t worry, everything’s fine,’ on the basis of very superficial checks,” said one civilian volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid jeopardizing his relationships with cooperative military officials.

So far, the army has done little to publicize the website and it’s unclear how many soldiers are using it.

That it’s gotten any public notice at all is probably because of Micha Shtiebel, an American-raised combat reservist in the Israeli military. He’s been on a mission to get the military to admit it has a problem and fix it, lobbying lawmakers and speaking to the media.

He’s used the attention he’s gotten, combined with research he’s collected, to develop relationships with key departments within the military and Defense Ministry. Shtiebel says he found allies among engineers and scientists in the military’s Directorate of Defense, Research & Development.

“It turned out these guys were already aware of the problem and proposing solutions but never getting any approval,” Shtiebel said in an interview.

He said he managed to get them a meeting with decision-makers to discuss a plan to test protective equipment, and that their plan was approved. The testing, Shtiebel said, formed the basis for the new website.

About two weeks ago, one of his contacts in the directorate sent him a link to the website.

“I don’t think they realize that I shared it and it’s out in the wild,” Shtiebel said. “They told me it’s an early beta and that they were excited and wanted me to see it, and I immediately went ahead and shared it with everybody.”

Shtiebel said he counts the website as a critical victory in his quest.

“I was finally able to apply the right pressure to get things moving,” he said.

“This project showed that with enough pressure, we can tackle these big bureaucratic problems,” Shtiebel said. “I wish the army would stop what it’s been doing, apologize and be accountable. But for now, I’ll take the win. At least they’re addressing the issue.”

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