When asked to identify the greatest threat to the State of Israel, a clear majority of Israelis point not to missiles or foreign armies—but to fractures within their own society.
According to the December 2025 Israeli Society Index released by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), 55% of Israeli respondents view social polarization and internal division as the most significant danger facing the state, surpassing both the Iranian threat and the longstanding Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Among Jewish Israelis, the share rises to 59% who see internal division as the primary existential risk, compared with 23% who single out Iran and 18% who point to the Israeli–Palestinian issue.
This marks a profound shift in public consciousness: for the first time in recent memory, Israelis regard the enemy within as a more critical threat than traditional external foes—underscoring concerns over political polarization, erosion of social cohesion, and widening ideological divides that cut across age, geography, and community.
Internal turmoil overtakes conventional threats
The JPPI survey asked respondents to choose among...
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