Givat Haviva Partnership Index: Political Partnership

Givat Haviva Partnership Index: Political Partnership

January 6, 2026 – Givat Haviva, Israel – The Givat Haviva Partnership Index examined the degree of support for Jewish-Arab political partnership. The Index shows consistent opposition from most Jews to inclusion of an Arab party in a coalition. 

At the same time, a significant portion of Change Bloc voters support a coalition partnership with an Arab party and even members serving as ministers in the government. Of those in the Change Bloc opposed to a coalition partnership, about a quarter would support forming a coalition with outside support, while about a third (32%) express no opinion.

"The findings of the Partnership Index indicate a large gap between the centrist parties’ leaders and their electorate: While the centrist leaders are trying to disavow Arab Knesset members, a significant portion of their public is open to Jewish-Arab political partnership,” said Givat Haviva CEO Michal Sella. 

“Moreover, the data show that a third of the Jewish respondents who oppose a coalition partnership have no position one way or the other regarding outside support, and this is exactly the time for leaders to get them behind this,” Sella continued. “Mathematically, ideologically, and morally, the only way for the Change Bloc to form a government is to not rule out cooperation with the Arab parties and not exclude every fifth Israeli from the political game.”

The Findings:

Partnership in a Coalition: 

Analysis of the data reveals that Arab society shows 70% support for a coalition partnership, a significant increase compared to previous years (57% last year and 52% in 2024).

A breakdown by bloc (Jews) shows that 43% of Change Bloc voters support Arab party participation in the coalition, while 95% of Netanyahu Bloc voters oppose it.

From an analysis by political camp (Jews), centrist voters are divided: 41% support Arab Knesset members joining a coalition compared to 47% opposed, 79% of left-wing voters are in support compared to 17% opposed, while among right-wing voters only 5% support Arab Knesset members joining a coalition and a clear majority (91%) oppose.

When analyzed by religious affiliation, 76% of the ultra-Orthodox oppose Arab party participation in a coalition, compared to 42% of secular Jews who support it. Analysis by age shows that half of the seniors (age 65 and over) support participation of an Arab party, compared to 14% of the young (ages 18-24) who oppose.

Outside Support:

Those opposed to including an Arab party in the coalition were asked whether they would agree to outside support for the coalition from the Arab parties. More than half (54%) of Jews who oppose the participation of an Arab party in a coalition oppose relying on support of Arab parties from the outside, 30% of them do not know, and 16% of them favor support from outside the coalition.

Distinguishing between those who intend to vote for the Change Bloc and the Netanyahu camp, 29% of Change Bloc voters who oppose participation in the coalition favor outside support from an Arab party, compared to 39% who oppose, and about a third express no opinion. On the other hand, 68% of those who intend to vote for the Netanyahu Bloc who oppose participation in the coalition also oppose outside support from an Arab party, about a quarter of them (23%) express no opinion and only 9% of them support.

When broken down by political camp, more than a quarter of center-right voters who oppose coalition participation (26%) favor outside support from Arab parties, compared to 31% opposed, and a high percentage of 42% expressing no opinion. 

Among right-wing voters, only 12% of those who oppose a coalition partnership support outside support, the majority (65%) oppose it, and another 23% express no opinion.

Among those opposed to inclusion in a coalition, opposition among the Jewish public to Arab party support from outside increases with religious affiliation, with approximately 67% of the ultra-Orthodox opposing, 64% of the religious, and 61% of the traditional, while approximately 29% of the secular are in favor.

Ministerial Appointments:

The Index also shows that among Jews who support including an Arab party in a coalition, 65% support its members serving as government ministers. Among Arab citizens, 88% of those who support coalition participation are also interested in having Arab ministers. This figure has been maintained since last year, and indicates stability in positions.