According to a new survey conducted by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Israel, and reported by the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” a majority of Israeli citizens of Arab descent feel at home and economically secure within Israel, yet they perceive themselves to be personally threatened.
When asked for the root cause of their insecurity, most respondents did not cite state actions or ongoing conflicts. Instead, they pointed to violence occurring within the Arab community itself (a figure of 52%). Concerns over war only worried about a fifth of respondents (22%), and only 8.6% reported experiencing “economic difficulties”. The situation of Palestinians in Gaza was cited as a concern by just 7.4% of Arab Israelis.
Demographically, Arab Israelis constitute more than one in five citizens, with about two million people of Arab descent, most of whom trace their roots to Palestine. On the economic front, nearly three-quarters of respondents (68.3%) describe their overall economic situation as good. Furthermore, half of the respondents (53.3%) stated that their sense of belonging to the State of Israel is strong overall, while 44% found it weak.
Politically, a clear majority (59.4%) believes that relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel are currently “not good”. Nevertheless, most respondents (64%) maintain belief in a political Arab-Jewish partnership. However, only four out of ten Israeli Arabs think that their Jewish fellow citizens support such cooperation. Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, slightly less than half of Arab Israelis (46.4%) believe that establishing a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders is the only realistic resolution. Only 18.7% see a unified state spanning from the Jordan to the Mediterranean, jointly inhabited by Israelis and Palestinians, as the solution.
Looking ahead to the parliamentary election planned for October 27, 2026, about half of today’s respondents anticipate participating. However, if the four Arab parties in Israel were to unite under a joint list, Arab voter turnout could surge to a record 67%, potentially securing 16 seats in the Knesset. Furthermore, a significant majority (77.2%) desires the inclusion of an Arab party in any future governing coalition.
The survey was conducted by the University of Tel Aviv and the research institute “Stat-Net” in April and May, where they phone-surveyed 500 Arab adults in Israel in their native language, commissioned by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.