Israeli voters put security first as 67% abroad view nation unfavorably

A Pew survey conducted from February to May found a median of 67% of adults across 36 countries hold an unfavorable view of Israel. That figure sits low on the agenda of Israeli citizens preparing to vote on October 27, when security questions and divisions over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take precedence.

Reports of confrontations abroad have accumulated in recent months. In July, tourists in Montenegro said they were approached by individuals who accused them of taking a holiday from genocide. One Israeli woman reported that a restaurant in Greece refused to serve her because of her nationality. A mother said she and her daughter were beaten in Thailand after stating they were Israeli, while a couple checking into a California hotel were asked if they were baby killers.

World leaders have called Israel's operations in Gaza disproportionate. Policies from Jerusalem and unchecked settler violence in the West Bank have pushed some countries, including allies, to impose sanctions or pull back ties.

Yaakov Katz, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that criticism of the government's international messaging has not turned into a major electoral concern. He said many Israelis accept Netanyahu's argument that hostility stems from antisemitism and would continue regardless of Israeli policy. Katz added that the average Israeli does not fully grasp the potential consequences of declining support, especially in the United States, while drawing reassurance from President Donald Trump's endorsement of Netanyahu.

Ofir Dayan, a senior fellow at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, said Israelis recognize and are troubled by hostility abroad, but other concerns carry greater weight after more than three years of war. "Israeli voters are very much one-issue voters, and the issue in this election is security," she said. Former Israel Defense Forces international spokesman Peter Lerner told JTA that foreign standing ranks behind divisions over Netanyahu and between the left and right.

Few of the roughly dozen parties expected to enter the Knesset have addressed the country's image or set out public diplomacy proposals. B'Yachad, led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, has proposed a non-voting parliamentary observer focused on Diaspora Jewish issues as part of efforts to repair relations with world Jewry. Amcha Yisrael, the new right-wing party led by former IDF Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter, includes public diplomacy activists Yoseph Haddad and Fleur Hassan-Nahoum among its candidates. Haddad has repeatedly expressed interest in becoming public diplomacy minister.