Poll: Jewish Home Party Gains Over Likud

YERUSHALAYIM (Hamodia Staff) —

If elections were held today, the Jewish Home party would jump from 12 to 18 seats in the Knesset, according to a Panels poll released on Thursday.

The poll was taken Wednesday, the day after the levayos of murdered teens Naftali Frankel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach, Hy”d, and was thought to reflect the anger of the Israeli public over the atrocity, which Jewish Home MKs have been voicing.

Much of the Jewish Home’s gains would come from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Beiteinu party, which would drop from 31 seats to 28.

Overall, however, the findings do not show a move rightward. In fact, the Center-Left bloc gained a seat from 59 to 60, while the Center-Right bloc fell from 61 into a tie with the Center-Left, according to the data.

Labor under the new leadership of Isaac Herzog would rise from 15 to 21, making it the second-biggest party in the country. Yesh Atid would slip from 19 to 13; Meretz would double from six to 12. Movement would fall from 6 to 3, and Kadima would not win any.

Shas, currently with 11, would win 7 seats. UTJ would maintain its 7 mandates. Hadash and the United Arab list would keep their four seats each and Balad three.

The poll did not take into account the rise in the electoral threshold from 2 to 3.25 percent, keeping out of the Knesset any party with fewer than 4 seats; Moshe Kachlon’s anticipated return to politics at the head of a new party; and the separation of  Likud and Yisrael Beitenu.

When asked what steps the IDF should take against Hamas, 62% were in favor of air strikes, 23% wanted a ground invasion, and 6% called for restraint.

Asked to grade the prime minister’s handling of the week’s events, 44% rated Netanyahu’s performance favorably and 51% unfavorably. The IDF and Shin-Bet fared well, at 76% and 70% favorable. The police, which mishandled the emergency kidnap call, received dismal ratings.

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!