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ZOA ISRAEL
OPPORTUNITY AMID POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY
With yet another confusing, sometimes
turbulent, Israeli elections
season capturing everyone’s attention,
ZOA Israel has been using this as a
golden opportunity, having recognized from
past campaigns that candidates can be especially
receptive when aiming to please voters.
Assisted by ZOA Israel efforts, voters are becoming
markedly more vocal concerning international
threats to Israel’s lawful rights, and
on related matters of security, as the number
of victims of Arab aggression and terror continues
to rise.
Polling the Electorate
ZOA has long maintained that creating
a Palestinian sovereign state means existential
danger for Israel. With this in mind and
against the backdrop of recent local and upcoming
national elections, ZOA Israel’s Legal
Grounds Campaign commissioned a poll by
the prestigious Rafi Smith Institute, a public
opinion organization offering Palestinian
statehood and four two-state alternatives as
possibilities.
Our poll has featured prominently in mainstream
and social media because of its remarkable
finding that only 10% of Israelis favor the
Palestinian state option. The other options
are, in order of preference: incentivized emigration/
annexation (30%); Area A & B autonomy
with Jordanian linkage (26%); Area
C annexation with full autonomy in A & B
(22%); and full annexation with Israeli citizenship
(12%). Boding well for Israel’s future,
the predilection for two-states is distinctly in
decline among the younger demographic.
We have noted intense interest in the
changing voter attitudes signaled by these results,
including from popular former minister
and close friend of ZOA Gidon Sa’ar (Likud),
who is himself opposed to Palestinian statehood.
Members of Knesset (“MK”) Bezalel
Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi), Avraham Neguise
(Likud), Oded Forer (Yisrael Beteinu) and
Yoaz Hendel (Israel Resilience), and former
MK Orit Struk (Bayit Yehudi), attended the
two-state alternatives Yisrael Sheli conference,
where we pitched our groundbreaking data.
They are also impressed by the change in voter
attitudes.
ZOA Israel’s elections engagement has included
clarifying leadership attitudes for the
voters in parallel (e.g., as part of an Emunah
Jerusalem lecture series), especially for Anglo
Israelis, who, as a voting bloc, would have
disproportionate potential to influence. Our
process of organizing Anglo and like-minded
native Israelis into a cohesive voice, to encourage
newer candidates and incumbents to
speak confidently on ZOA issues, continues
apace. Toward this end, we prepared a Knesset
primer, spelling out Israel’s rightful presence
in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Once the
next government is formed, we plan on distributing
copies widely in the Knesset to keep
the momentum going.
The now-concluded Jerusalem mayoral
and city council elections also afforded nascent
opportunities to spotlight our issues.
Making the rounds at numerous debates and