Still Playing by the Rules: Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel 2015

The Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel draws on Arab and Jewish public opinion surveys, measuring the attitudes of Arab and Jewish citizens toward one another and toward the state, and monitoring trends of change in these attitudes over the years.

The Arab survey is based on 700 face-to-face interviews conducted with a national representative sample of Arab citizens aged 18 and over (including Druze and Bedouin, but excluding Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Druze in the Golan Heights, who are by and large not Israeli citizens). The Jewish survey analyses 700 telephone interviews with a national representative sample of Jews aged 18 and over (including immigrants, ultra-Orthodox, settlers living in the West Bank, and Moshav and Kibbutz members).

The surveys for the 2015 Index were conducted following the Knesset elections that were held on March 17, 2015, but before the wave of terrorism that erupted on October 1, 2015. The Arab survey was carried out in May-July 2015 and the Jewish survey in June 2015.

The Index examines sixteen key issues on which Arabs and Jews are likely to differ. … In addition to these constant issues, every year the Index focuses on a specific issue, either one of the constant issues or another important topical issue that may shed light on the three way relations between Arab citizens, Jews, and the state. In the 2015 Index new questions were asked concerning the Joint List (the united list of the three Arab political parties and the Arab-Jewish party Hadash), statements made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Moshe Kahlon during the 2015 Knesset campaign concerning the Arab minority, Operation Protective Edge (the 2014 Gaza Conflict), and concerning regional developments.