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An overwhelming majority of Israelis believe the US spies on Israelis, according to the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University\’s monthly Peace Index poll, released Monday.
When asked if the US listens to Israeli leaders\’ and citizens\’ conversations, 90 percent of Jewish respondents and 62% of Arabs said yes.
At the same time, 65% of Jewish Israelis and 22% of Arab Israelis support spying on friendly countries, while 73% of Israeli Jews believe Israel already does so.
The poll results come after The New York Times reported Sunday that classified files made public by fugitive former US National Security Agency agent Edward Snowden showed that the NSA tracked Israeli military targets and shared material with the IDF Military Intelligence\’s Unit 8200.
This month\’s Peace Index also examined Israeli public opinion on national security, the socioeconomic situation and the role of the IDF, finding that most Israeli Arabs support allowing civilian service instead of military service.
In fact, more Israeli Arabs (69%) than Jewish Israelis (57%) think civilian service should be allowed in lieu of military service and 68% of Israelis – 67% of Israeli Jews and 73% of Israeli Arabs – support granting the same rights to those who complete civilian service as those who served in the IDF.
Two-thirds of Jewish Israelis believe that there is a high security risk to Israel, while about half as many Israeli Arabs agreed with the statement.
When asked if the IDF is able to deal with security threats, 86% of Israelis said yes.
Most Israelis (57%), both Jewish and Arab, believe that socioeconomic challenges are more threatening to Israel\’s future than military ones. About half (49%) of Jewish Israelis identifying themselves as right-wing agreed with the statement, while 62% of left-wing Jewish Israelis did.
The IDF maintained its image as "army of the people," with 70% of Jewish Israelis agreeing with it. Three-fourths (76%) of Jewish Israelis also believe that the IDF should continue depending on compulsory service, as opposed to canceling the draft and moving to a professional army, which is supported by only 21% of Israeli Jews.
The poll was conducted on October 28-29 and surveyed 600 respondents who constitute a representative sample of Israel\’s adult population. The margin or error for the sample is 4.5%.