Israeli Youth Lean Significantly Rightward, Poll Shows Strong Support for Netanyahu Bloc
A new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute reveals that young Israelis aged 18 to 34 lean significantly to the right, with 47.2% supporting the Netanyahu bloc. Demographic growth among religious and traditional communities, combined with social media polarization, drives this conservative shift.
A recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute reveals a significant political shift among young Israelis aged 18 to 34, who lean substantially further to the right than the general population. According to the Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, 47.2% of young adults intend to vote for the Netanyahu-led bloc, compared to 38.7% among the general public. This creates a nearly 15-point coalition lead among youth and a 20-percentage-point ideological shift to the right.
Demographic factors largely drive this trend. While 70% of Jewish voters in the change bloc are secular, the Netanyahu bloc draws strong support from traditional, religious, and Haredi communities, which maintain higher birth rates. Among adults aged 20 to 44, 65% identify as Haredi (17%), religious (15%), or traditional (33%), and young voters overwhelmingly mirror their parents' political affiliations.
International data corroborates this conservative trajectory. The European Social Survey places Israel third out of 30 European countries for self-reported right-wing alignment among 18-to-29-year-olds, scoring 5.97 out of 10 against a European average of 4.95. Furthermore, 45.2% of Israeli youth identify as religious or close to tradition, and 50% report feeling a deeper connection to Judaism following the outbreak of the war.
Attitudes toward security and minorities also reflect this hardline stance. A July survey indicated that 42% of young Israelis support revoking voting rights for Arab citizens—higher than the 33% recorded among the general Jewish population. Additionally, 73% oppose opening negotiations with Palestinians, compared to 55% of older adults.
Experts point to the education system and social media as compounding factors. With 58% of young people relying on social networks for political news, algorithms often amplify polarized and superficial content. Researchers and political activists note that schools frequently avoid political discourse, leaving graduates with limited institutional knowledge of democracy and civic competence.
