{"id":72256,"date":"2016-03-08T05:46:36","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T10:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2016\/03\/08\/views-of-the-jewish-state-and-the-diaspora\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:58:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:58:23","slug":"views-of-the-jewish-state-and-the-diaspora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2016\/03\/08\/views-of-the-jewish-state-and-the-diaspora\/","title":{"rendered":"8. Views of the Jewish state and the diaspora"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Israeli Jews across the religious spectrum strongly support the idea of Israel as a Jewish state and a homeland for Jewish people around the world. Overall, majorities of Jews say Israel was given to the Jewish people by God and that a Jewish state is necessary for the long-term survival of the Jewish people. Nearly unanimously, Jews support their diaspora population\u2019s right to move to Israel and receive citizenship, and most agree that Jews deserve preferential treatment in Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Israeli Jews are divided when it comes to the status of the country\u2019s Arab minority; roughly half say Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel, while the other half disagree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, many Jews in Israel think the Jewish state faces other important, long-term challenges. When asked to explain in their own words the nature of Israel\u2019s most important problem, about equal proportions of Israeli Jews name security-related problems and economic problems. (American Jews take a very different view of Israel\u2019s long-term challenges; most American Jews name security-related issues as Israel\u2019s biggest problem, while very few point to economic issues.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Israeli Jews value Israel as a Jewish state, they also see the Jewish diaspora as important. Nearly seven-in-ten say a thriving Jewish diaspora is necessary for the long-term survival of the Jewish people. And even though American Jews take a different view of Israel\u2019s long-term challenges and diverge from Israeli Jews in their religious observance and political views, Israeli Jews value their connections with American Jews. For example, Israeli Jews generally agree that Jews in Israel and those in the U.S. share a common destiny to at least some extent. And roughly six-in-ten say Jews in the U.S. have a good influence over how things are going in Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Majority of Israeli Jews say Israel given to the Jewish people by God<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Was<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Roughly six-in-ten Israeli Jews (61%) say God gave Israel to the Jewish people, while 12% say this is not literally true. The remainder \u2013 those who say they do not believe in God or do not know if they believe in God \u2013 were not asked this question (27%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In part because they are more likely to believe in God, more observant Israeli Jews are more likely than their less-observant peers to say God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people. Nearly all Haredim and Datiim say God gave Israel to the Jewish people. Among Masortim as well, the vast majority (85%) say God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people. Far fewer secular Hilonim (31%) hold this view; half of Hilonim do not believe in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fewer than half of Jews of Ashkenazi ancestry (46%) believe God gave Israel to the Jews, compared with nearly eight-in-ten Sephardim\/Mizrahim (78%). And those who speak Russian at home (30%) are far less likely to believe this than are Hebrew-speaking Jews (65%), in part because many Russian-speaking Israeli Jews do not believe in God (54%). All Yiddish-speaking Jews in the survey believe God gave Israel to the Jewish people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, Christians and Druze in Israel are less likely than Jews to believe God gave Israel to the Jewish people. But even among these groups, nearly one-in-five say God gave Israel to the Jews (19% and 17%, respectively).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to political sensitivities, Muslims in Israel were not asked this question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haredim less likely than other Jews to describe themselves as \u2018Zionist\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Most<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most Jews in Israel say \u201cZionist\u201d \u2013 a term referring to someone who supports the establishment and protection of a state for the Jewish people in Israel \u2013 describes them \u201cvery\u201d (30%) or \u201csomewhat\u201d (44%) accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this is not uniformly true across Jewish identity categories. Only a third of Haredim (33%) say the term Zionist describes them accurately \u2013 perhaps reflecting the ambivalence some Haredim have long felt about the formation of a Jewish state before the arrival of the Messiah. Datiim are more likely than any other group to say the term Zionist describes them \u201cvery accurately\u201d (43%), and an additional 42% say it describes them \u201csomewhat accurately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Yiddish- and Russian-speaking Jews in Israel, although at different ends of the spectrum of religious observance, are less likely than Hebrew-speaking Jews to say the term Zionist captures their identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jews who describe their political ideology as \u201cleft\u201d or \u201cright\u201d are about equally likely to say the term Zionist describes them at least somewhat accurately. Overall, 34% of left-leaning Israeli Jews say the term Zionist describes them very accurately, compared with 37% of those on the political right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jews support Israel as a Jewish homeland<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Jews<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All Jews around the world currently have the right to move to Israel and gain citizenship, enshrined in Israel\u2019s Law of Return<\/a>, which was enacted in 1950 (two years after Israel became a state). (For more details on aliyah, see the sidebar below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtually all Israeli Jews (98%) agree that it is the birthright of all Jews around the world to make aliyah to Israel. This view is all but unanimous across a variety of religious and demographic groups. In fact, 87% of Israeli Jews strongly<\/em> agree that all Jews have the right to make aliyah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Israeli Jews (79%) also say Jews deserve preferential treatment in Israel. This view is especially common among Haredim (97%) and Datiim (96%); roughly seven-in-ten in each group strongly agree with this position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilonim are somewhat less likely to say Jews deserve preferential treatment in Israel; still, about seven-in-ten (69%) agree with this view, compared with 29% who disagree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jews on the political left stand out for the relatively small share who say Jews deserve preferential treatment in Israel (38%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The survey question asked about preferential treatment in general and did not specify what kind of preference Jews should receive.)<\/p>\n\n\n

Aliyah: Immigration to Israel<\/div>