Anti-war protestors clash with security personnel as they gather in Habima Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday. A new Iran war poll by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) surveyed 756 adults from March 22 to 26.Erik Marmor/Getty Images
Nadav Peretz’s apartment in Tel Aviv was so badly damaged by the blast wave of a missile on the second day of the Iran war that he has been living in a hotel for evacuees like himself.
His business, OUTstanding Travel, has also taken a hit − economically, that is, given that flights in and out of Israel are extremely limited.
But that has not diminished his support for the war, which he views as an existential struggle, particularly given Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
“I believe them when they say they want to destroy Israel and they will do it,” he said.
Mr. Peretz is among the 67.7 per cent of Israelis who continue to support the month-long war with Iran, according to a new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), which surveyed 756 adults from March 22 to 26.
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Initially, it was presumed that this military campaign launched by Israel and the United States on Feb. 28 would follow a similar trajectory to that of the 12-day war with Iran last June. That conflict was quickly ended by U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed it had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
A previous IDI poll, conducted from March 2 to 3, found that 82.1 per cent of respondents backed the war, with support dipping only slightly, to 81 per cent, in a poll from March 9 to 11.
Senior IDI research fellow Tamar Hermann, who conducted the latest poll, said, “Iran is still perceived in Israel as the arch enemy,” adding that it is significant that the public still stands behind the war weeks into it. Prof. Hermann noted, however, that confidence in Israel’s ability to attain its war goals has dropped.
The March 9–11 poll of 603 Israelis found that some 66.3 per cent believed the war would only last a month. More than 60 per cent held that Israel’s goal of destroying Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities were attainable, with 45 per cent hoping the Islamic Republic’s regime could also be toppled.
The latest survey was conducted after the Israeli army had clarified that the war would likely last until mid-April and that Mr. Trump’s ceasefire efforts, far from providing hope of a swift end, opened up the possibility of a war that could last for months, particularly if there was a ground campaign.
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Some 55.1 per cent of respondents in the third survey said Iran was more resilient than they had anticipated. Only 24.4 per cent of those polled said they felt Israeli society could sustain an unlimited war, while 34.3 per cent said the country could only endure one month of conflict with Iran. Another 19.5 per cent said Israel could not handle more than a month to three months of war.
Dahlia Scheindlin, a public opinion researcher and columnist for the Hebrew daily Haaretz, said Israelis tend to support fast, short wars.
“The general rule of thumb is that public support for any war goes down over time because the longer the war goes on, the more people get tired of it,” she said.
One month in, with Israelis seeking shelter from a daily barrage of missiles, normal life has been heavily disrupted, Ms. Scheindlin said. Schools are closed, and businesses can only partially function, so people are suffering economically, she explained.
“We’re all stuck in a home running from missiles,” she said.
Support for the war has crossed political lines, with both opposition and government politicians backing it − save for those on the far left of the political map.
The latest IDI poll noted that ethnicity played a role in attitudes toward the war, with 78 per cent of Jewish Israelis supporting it while just 19 per cent of Arab Israelis did.
A number of its opponents, both Jews and Arabs, have taken to the streets to begin protesting the war.
Arab-Israeli politician Aida Touma-Sliman of the Hadash party posted a photo of one such protest on X, stating: “There are still sane voices that refuse to accept it as a given and say clearly: No to war.”
Uri Weltmann, the national field organizer of the grassroots Jewish and Palestinian group Standing Together, which opposes the war, said his organization held 30 small protests across Israel over the weekend.
“I think it shows a glimpse of how the weather is changing in Israeli society when it comes to the attitude to the war,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “wants to lead by the sword” in a series of “never-ending wars,” but there is a coalition of Jews and Palestinians in Israel who believe that what is needed now is diplomatic negotiations, Mr. Weltmann said.
Israelis who support the war, such as Mr. Peretz, however, have also said they believe in peace and diplomacy, particularly with the Iranian people, but do not think it is possible as long as the current, theocratic regime controls Iran.
He noted that Tehran has for years sponsored proxy militias to fight Israel − Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
“We’re not enjoying sitting in the shelter. We’re not enjoying seeing people die, but we don’t have a choice. We have to protect ourselves.”