On the eve of Tisha B’Av, Gesher released the first- ever comprehensive index of social attitudes towards Israeli unity. The Israel Unity Index, commissioned as part of the Jerusalem Unity Prize In Memory of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali HY”D, will serve as an annual gauge for what is largely considered Israel’s biggest social challenge. While revealing a high level of concern over issues of unity within the country, the report also presented national agreement on the need for increased educational efforts to counter this trend and greater cooperation from official Israeli institutions.

Among the study’s findings, 46 percent of respondents said that the problem of disunity was a significant social issue they thought about on a regular basis. The study found a clear correlation between concern over disunity and religious observance whereby secular and traditional respondents (53%) expressed concern in higher degrees than religious (40%) and chareidi (27%) Israelis.

The study, which encompassed all elements of Israel’s Jewish society, responded resoundingly that the most unifying factor was war or tragedy. An overwhelming 80 percent answered positively when asked about the impact of negative news on unity.

While the survey found that only 13 percent of Israelis felt that the nation was likely to have greater communal unity within the next five years, a full 81 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement, “I fully respect Jews from all aspects of society, even when I don’t agree with them.” Of those surveyed, 78 percent also said they supported national educational efforts to introduce religious students to their secular counterparts and vice-versa.

“This index is an important indicator that we have a great deal to accomplish in building a better society but that there is also considerable cause for optimism,” said Ilan Gael Dor, Executive Director of Gesher. “Most fundamentally it reveals that there is a high level of misunderstanding of the other and if overcome then we can enhance unity within our society.” He pointed to a finding of the survey where as many as 53 percent of chareidim said they have little to no regular interaction with people of other segments of society.

The survey, made possible through the support of the UJA Federation of New York, was conducted on a sample group of 511 Israelis by the Zofnat Research Institute which recorded a margin of error of 4.4 percent. The study was conducted by both internet and phone based surveys with specific attention paid to reaching chareidi households with reduced access to the internet.

The Unity Index was initiated as part of Unity Day commemorations created to memorialize the murders of the three boys; Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frenkel and Gil-ad Shaar.

“The tragedy of the three boys revealed that even while our society is often viewed as fractured and in need of repair – a reality corroborated by this study- solutions do exist to address this problem,” said Uri Yifrach, father of Eyal. “The challenge, and one which we can and must confront, is to implement those solutions in all times and not just when we’re being faced with tragedy or attacks.”

Unity Day commemorations, held in 2014 on June 3rd, attracted the participation of over two million people in communities across the globe. In the wake of the success of the events, the Knesset is currently considering a proposal to make Unity Day an official day on the Israeli calendar. Unity Day will be marked every year in memorial for the three boys with the goal of continuing to harness the spirit of national collectiveness which distinguished the period following their kidnappings and murders.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)