Why is Israel so happy if things are so bad?

Geoff Sifrin

TAKING ISSUE

Any peace deal with the Palestinians seems impossible in the foreseeable future, and arch-enemy Iran is about to re-enter the international stage following its deal with world powers on its nuclear programme – without ever having renounced its vow to “wipe Israel off the map”.  

Yet while political realities look gloomy, surveys show Israel ranks as one of the happiest, most optimistic nations in the world in other respects. Israelis feel better than most Europeans, according to the European Social Survey poll published recently by City University London and other academic institutions. The poll examined satisfaction levels in 29 mostly European countries, including Israel, measuring the sense of well-being, and community and emotional support among residents.

Israelis scored higher than the majority of European countries – eighth place – in feelings of well-being. This was identical to Germany and higher than Britain, France and Italy. Denmark came first, and Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Finland, Holland and Sweden ranked higher than Israel. These results are remarkable – though they were probably affected by the fact that Europe was embroiled in a debt crisis at the time of the initial survey, based on 2012 data.

Israel scored lower in the other categories, but still came out looking relatively healthy. In the sense of belonging to communities, it ranked eleventh, but still above France, Italy, Poland and Bulgaria. In the emotional support category it ranked thirteenth, with Germany coming third, near the Scandinavian countries. The lowest scoring countries were Portugal, Italy and Hungary. Russia received dismal scores in all categories.

A more current survey focusing on finance, confirmed the outlook of Israel as an advanced, optimistic society. In the Pew Research Center’s annual poll of economic conditions in 40 countries released last week, Israelis score high in optimism. Most significantly, they expressed confidence in their children’s financial future. The survey categorised countries as ‘advanced’, ‘emerging’ and ‘developing’. Israel was classified as advanced, as were most of Western Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia. Emerging countries included China, Vietnam, and India. Developing countries, mostly in Africa, also included the Palestinian Authority.

The poll measured the perception among residents of the economy’s performance. Forty-nine per cent of Israelis said their economy was ‘good’. But it’s for their children that Israelis have the most hope. Some 51 per cent believed their children will be financially better off than they are – the highest percentage of any country in the developed world, nearly twice the average in Western Europe and North America. In the US, only 32 per cent felt the next generation would be better off, while the least optimistic was Japan (18 per cent), Italy (15 per cent), and France (14 per cent).

Developing and emerging countries showed even more optimism about the future than Israelis, however, such as the Vietnamese, Chinese, Nigerians, Indians, Chileans, Ethiopians, Senegalese, and residents of Burkina Faso. Two thirds of the residents of those countries expected their children to do better than they. Palestinians were the least optimistic in the developing world – but more optimistic than Lebanese, Malaysians, and Jordanians, and less optimistic than Poles and Venezuelans.

Of course, statistics are only rough measures of reality. They can change very quickly, and can easily paint an erroneous picture. Mark Twain is well-known to have popularised the phrase in the United States to describe the persuasive power of numbers, particularly the use of statistics to bolster arguments which may be in doubt : “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” 

But still, given the perception of deteriorating political realities for Israel in the Middle East and parts of the world at large, and the worrying rise of anti-Semitism across the globe – which affects Israel in many ways – it is remarkable that that country ranks statistically today among the most buoyant and optimistic nations.

Geoff Sifrin is former editor of the SAJR. He writes this column in his personal capacity.