-A new study conducted by the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reveals that a vast majority (81 percent) of Israelis support joining the European Union (EU) and more involvement and deeper cooperation with European organizations.
"The results also show that there is widespread misperception about the Israeli public’s real attitudes toward the EU,” said Sharon Pardo, head of the Jean Monnet Chair in European Studies in the university’s department of politics and government.
"The Israeli public actually views the EU and its member states as crucial players in shaping Israel’s future and would like to see both Europe and NATO playing an even more central role in the Middle East peace process," he added.
The survey, titled "Israel Positions on the EU," showed that 68 percent of Israelis support joining NATO while nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of Israelis are also supportive of NATO deploying troops to the West Bank and Gaza in a peacekeeping capacity. Both Jewish and Arab citizens were in agreement in their support (63 percent vs. 64 percent).
Nearly half (47 percent) of Israelis surveyed say they support EU involvement in a two-state solution as the only framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One-fifth (19 percent) of Israelis also say a possible EU-Hamas dialogue increases their level of support for the EU.
The most highly regarded European leader right now is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with favorable ratings of 55 percent.
The survey also found that 8.5 percent of the Israelis are already citizens of one of the 27 EU member states.
The study was conducted by Panels Research Ltd. in mid-June 2011. One thousand people responded to the survey which was a representative sample of the Israeli population. The survey has a 3.3 percent margin of error.