42% of respondents said they support Herzog’s proposal while 34% said they oppose it. 24% of respondents said they have no opinion on the issue.

TURN TO President Isaac Herzog – and a dream team of Israeli icons – to lead public meetings over court reform, and develop more legitimating procedures for changing our balance of democratic powers, says the writer.
(photo credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)

The majority of Israelis support the judicial reform outline proposed by President Isaac Herzog, an internet survey conducted for Maariv found.

The survey was conducted by Dr. Menachem Lazar from March 15-16 on a representative sample of the Israeli population aged 18 and older made up of 508 respondents on Israeli questionnaire website Panel4All.

42% of respondents said they support Herzog’s proposal while 34% said they oppose it. 24% of respondents said they have no opinion on the issue. The maximum sampling error is 4.3%.

65% of voters of the parties in the current government coalition oppose the proposal while 69% of voters of the opposition parties support it.

72% of ultra-Orthodox Jewish respondents and 82% of United Torah Judaism voters said they oppose the outline.

78% of supporters of the National Unity Party and 77% of Yesh Atid voters said they support the outline.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and coalition members celebrate after a vote on the government’s judicial overhaul plans in the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on February 21, 2023. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Survey suggests opposition still has edge, though slightly less than in previous polls

The survey suggests the opposition parties have an advantage but that it has weakened slightly since previous polls.

OPPOSITION MKS wrap themselves in Israeli flags during the Knesset vote on judicial reform on Monday night. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Furthermore, the results suggest the power of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party has declined, with the party only winning 5 seats in the survey.

Yesh Atid, which reached 27 mandates on January 26, only reached 24 in the latest survey.

Herzog proposed the outline as a compromise on controversial changes to Israel’s judicial system proposed by the governing coalition, which have led to large protests in Israel and abroad.

Judicial reforms proposed by coalition

Critics of the proposed judicial reforms say the proposals, which would essentially strip the Supreme Court of its ability to conduct judicial review, threaten the country’s democratic nature.

Proponents of the reforms say the changes are needed to reign in an overpowered judicial branch.

As reported by The Jerusalem Post