Nearly two-thirds of Israelis (63%) support the immediate establishment of a commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre, the May poll from the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) Israeli Society Index reveals.
The position is shared by a majority in both the Jewish (62%) and Arab (67%) sectors.
In general, some 15% of Israelis believe that forming the committee should be delayed until the war has fully ended, while even fewer (11%) believe that the decision on when to establish the committee should be left up to the government’s discretion.
When dividing along political lines, the split is even starker. A majority of left-wing (100%), center-left (99%), center-leaning (87%), and center-right (68%) respondents support the immediate establishment of the committee.
Among right-wing respondents, only 34% believe the committee should be formed as soon as possible, while the majority prefer to delay the move. Of those, a third want to wait until the war ends, and another 26% believe the government should decide on the timing.
Should judiciary be involved in the committee?
Regarding the type of inquiry committee to form, 46% of respondents prefer a state commission of inquiry, while 40% prefer a national inquiry committee.
Even so, only 5% of Israelis support a government commission of inquiry, and a similar percentage (4%) believe there is no need for an inquiry committee beyond the professional reviews conducted by the security bodies.
In the Jewish sector, there is a slight preference for a national committee over a state inquiry committee: 48% support a national committee and 42% oppose it. The poll also found that among Arabs, the majority (62%) want a state commission of inquiry headed by a judge.
The main point of contention, the poll found, is whether or not the judiciary should be involved in the inquiry committee.
An overwhelming majority of right-wing respondents (80%) strongly prefer a national inquiry committee composed of individuals accepted by the broader population, while only 6% support a committee headed by a Supreme Court judge.
In contrast, in the left- and center-wing political camps, most respondents demand a state inquiry committee led by a Supreme Court judge, with 78% in the center, 93% in the center-left, and 94% in the left.
The JPPI Israeli Society Index is conducted by Shmuel Rosner and Nachum Salpcov, with research and production by Yael Levinovsky and statistical consulting by Prof. David Steinberg. The data were weighted by voting patterns and religiosity to represent the views of the general Israeli public.