A survey of 400 Jewish residents of Jerusalem was conducted in May 2016 by Smith Consulting on behalf of Ir Amim.
The survey questioned attitudes toward the annual Flag Parade, a focal point of Jerusalem Day founded to celebrate Israel’s 1967 “reunification” of the city, which crosses the Old City through the Muslim Quarter and reaches the Western Wall. In past years the parade has caused severe restrictions on Palestinian movement and been marked by displays of racist and violent behavior. Results of the survey were broken down by religious affiliation and political views among other criteria.
When asked whether the Flag Parade should pass through the Muslim Quarter, 47% of respondents said it should not, while 43% said it should. Ten percent had no opinion on the question. When informed that Jerusalem Day would coincide this year with the first night of Ramadan and the holiday’s opening prayer, the share of respondents opposed to having the Parade pass through the Muslim Quarter rose to 61%, whereas the percentage of supporters dropped to 33%. Six percent did not offer an opinion on the issue.
More generally, five percent of respondents said that they planned to participate in the Parade this year, while 72% said they did not plan to participate and 23% were undecided. When asked whether in principle they were in favor of holding the Flag Parade, 58% answered in the affirmative, 17% said they were against and 25% said they had no opinion on the matter.
Within the religious public, 87% said they were in favor of holding the Parade. Sixty-three percent of religious respondents said that they thought the Parade should pass through the Muslim Quarter, but after being informed of the concurrence of Jerusalem Day and Ramadan, this number dropped to 50%.
Seventy-three percent of all respondents think that having the Parade pass through the Muslim Quarter will heighten tension between Arabs and Jews to some degree. Among right wingers, 63% said that passing through the Muslim Quarter would heighten tension between Arabs and Jews, and within the center-left, 94% percent think that holding the parade in this route will heighten tension between Arabs and Jews.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said that having the Parade pass through the Muslim Quarter would not strengthen Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, and 40% thought that it would.
The survey questioned attitudes toward the annual Flag Parade, a focal point of Jerusalem Day founded to celebrate Israel’s 1967 “reunification” of the city, which crosses the Old City through the Muslim Quarter and reaches the Western Wall. In past years the parade has caused severe restrictions on Palestinian movement and been marked by displays of racist and violent behavior. Results of the survey were broken down by religious affiliation and political views among other criteria.
When asked whether the Flag Parade should pass through the Muslim Quarter, 47% of respondents said it should not, while 43% said it should. Ten percent had no opinion on the question. When informed that Jerusalem Day would coincide this year with the first night of Ramadan and the holiday’s opening prayer, the share of respondents opposed to having the Parade pass through the Muslim Quarter rose to 61%, whereas the percentage of supporters dropped to 33%. Six percent did not offer an opinion on the issue.
More generally, five percent of respondents said that they planned to participate in the Parade this year, while 72% said they did not plan to participate and 23% were undecided. When asked whether in principle they were in favor of holding the Flag Parade, 58% answered in the affirmative, 17% said they were against and 25% said they had no opinion on the matter.
Within the religious public, 87% said they were in favor of holding the Parade. Sixty-three percent of religious respondents said that they thought the Parade should pass through the Muslim Quarter, but after being informed of the concurrence of Jerusalem Day and Ramadan, this number dropped to 50%.
Seventy-three percent of all respondents think that having the Parade pass through the Muslim Quarter will heighten tension between Arabs and Jews to some degree. Among right wingers, 63% said that passing through the Muslim Quarter would heighten tension between Arabs and Jews, and within the center-left, 94% percent think that holding the parade in this route will heighten tension between Arabs and Jews.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said that having the Parade pass through the Muslim Quarter would not strengthen Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, and 40% thought that it would.
Print
PDF version blog
Related Topics
More on Jerusalem Day
blog
17.05.22
Policy Papers