Israelis for Israel
Despite the less than perfect execution of the 2006 Lebanon war, Israelis remain pretty patriotic, if less so than the sons and daughters of Uncle Sam, according to a poll published in the Jerusalem Post. 67% term themselves patriots, compared to 72% in the US. Given that patriotism is defined as 'a willingness to fight for your country, the Hebrew language, Jerusalem, a love of the nation and living in Israel', it goes a bit deeper than rooting for the national team at football or listening to admittedly awful Israeli pop music.
Further oddities thrown out include the following:
"Ninety-two percent of those surveyed said they were willing to fight for their country; 83% said they were very proud of being Israeli; 85%-89% said national symbols such as the flag were very important - the same number as the previous year. Ninety-four percent said they were prouder of their "Jewishness" than of their "Israeliness" [83%]". And "Those on the political left felt an increase in patriotism in 2006, while those on the right, although remaining highly patriotic, felt a decline in their Israeli pride".
Finally, "The Israel Defense Forces are in third place in terms of their place of pride among the Israeli population, after accomplishments in science and the arts".
It would be intriguing to benchmark those figures against an equivalent poll in the UK, but somehow I could not see scientific achievements topping the list in these parts.
Coming up later /possibly/ - is Segolene Royal a tax dodger, the 2007 Index of World Economic Freedom and attitudes to the EU single market.
Further oddities thrown out include the following:
"Ninety-two percent of those surveyed said they were willing to fight for their country; 83% said they were very proud of being Israeli; 85%-89% said national symbols such as the flag were very important - the same number as the previous year. Ninety-four percent said they were prouder of their "Jewishness" than of their "Israeliness" [83%]". And "Those on the political left felt an increase in patriotism in 2006, while those on the right, although remaining highly patriotic, felt a decline in their Israeli pride".
Finally, "The Israel Defense Forces are in third place in terms of their place of pride among the Israeli population, after accomplishments in science and the arts".
It would be intriguing to benchmark those figures against an equivalent poll in the UK, but somehow I could not see scientific achievements topping the list in these parts.
Coming up later /possibly/ - is Segolene Royal a tax dodger, the 2007 Index of World Economic Freedom and attitudes to the EU single market.
Labels: Israel
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on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 9:51 am.
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It would indeed be intriguing to benchmark those figures for UK comparison. Has anyone attempted it. Should we?
The best I've been able to come up with is a Fabian Society commissioned survey from December 2005: '86% are proud to be British....29% say they often feel ashamed to be British, while 55% disagree'. Apparently our #1 thing (75%) is 'Justice. We pride ourselves on our tolerance, fairness and fair play'.
An interesting article by Sion Heffer on "Britishness" and what it no longer means . I think you get a better idea if you look back at events when there was Britishness as he does.
I would have expoected Israelis to be more gung ho .
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