OPINION SURVEY REGARDING THE HOLOCAUST IN ROMANIA

1

• OPINION SURVEY REGARDING THE HOLOCAUST IN ROMANIA
  
  
• AND PERCEPTIONS OF
• INTERETHNIC RELATIONS

Developed for the "Elie Wiesel" National Institu
te for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania
Project financed by The International Task Force
for Cooperation on Holocaust Education,
Remembrance, and Research
May 2007
2
Content

• Foreword 2
• Methodology 4
• Summary 5
• Perception of democratic institutions 14
• Perception of minorities the whole
  sample 18
  
• Perception of minorities Ethnic Romanians
  responses 25
  
• Perception of the HOLOCAUST 32
• Ion Antonescus image 40
• Perception of the State of Israel 43

3
FOREWORD
The "Elie Wiesel" National Institute for the
Study of the Holocaust in Romania was created in
September 2005 under the authority of the
Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs. The
main objectives of the institute are the
following the development of historiographical
research regarding the Holocaust in Romania, the
creation of a documentary archive regarding
anti-Semitic policies and activities of the
Romanian Government between 1938-1944, the
development of educational programs based on
European civic values, such as tolerance, the
acceptance of human diversity, the fight against
anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia.
The Conclusions and Recommendations chapter of
the Final Report issued by the International
Commission for the Study of the Holocaust in
Romania in November 2004 states the need for
education in this field both for increasing
awareness of the recent history (to know not to
repeat the mistakes of the past) and for the
understanding of the significance of being a
citizen with equal rights. The Holocaust can be
a controversial subject in certain societies, in
which memory and perception are often matters of
debate. People perceive the Jewish ordeal during
the Second World War differently, according to
their age, rational or emotional states, their
prejudice or knowledge. Therefore, we need
effective strategies for promoting educational
programs on this topic, based on a good
understanding of the target public. This project
is especially designed for measuring the opinions
and attitudes of the population towards the
Holocaust and related subjects.
4
FOREWORD
Key terms used for evaluation of this public
opinion survey at the national level
1. The Holocaust in Romania
2. Ion Antonescus image as a Romanian leader
3. Attitudes regarding state institutions and
values such as democracy / authoritarianism/
tolerance / rejection 4. Perceptions of ethnic
minorities (especially Jews and Roma)
5. Attitude towards Israel as a source of
anti-Semitism. During the project we had continuo
us financial and consultancy support from The
International Task Force for Cooperation on
Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research.
The public opinion survey was conducted by
TNS-CSOP. We want to express gratitude to our col
laborators for their special support in the
realization of this public opinion survey.
The ELIE WIESEL NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE
STUDY OF THE HOLOCAUST IN ROMANIA
5
Methodology

• Research type Omnibus survey
• Data collection period 25 April 3 May 2007
• Sample 1,026 respondents, error margin of
  3.06.
  
• Target respondents National representative
  sample of the Romanian population aged 15 years
  old and above. The sample is representative
  according to gender, age, residence and region
  according to National Statistic and Economic
  Studies official data.
• Number of sampling points 118
• Random selection of respondents, using random
  route for selecting households, with statistical
  step according to area type, and next birthday
  rule for respondent selection in the household.
• Data collection method face to face interviews
  using a structured questionnaire.

6
SUMMARY

• Population attitudes Democracy and reliance on
  public institutions
  
• Democracy in Romania is considered hardly
  satisfactory by the population, 43 being
  dissatisfied or very dissatisfied by it and only
  19 declaring that they are satisfied or very
  satisfied by it.
• This result might be influenced by political
  events which developed during the survey
  (impeachment of the Romanian President by the
  Parliament).
• The Church (78) and the Army (64) are
  considered the most reliable institutions by the
  Romanian population, followed by local
  authorities (45) and mass media (44).
• The Presidency (40), the Police (39) and - at a
  certain distance- the Judiciary (27) are the
  next institutions which the Romanians trust
  more.
• The Parliament (13) and the Government (14)
  are the least trusted.

7
SUMMARY

• Population perceptions regarding anti-Semitism
• Only a small proportion of respondents (16)
  declared that there are parties with anti-Semitic
  discourse in Romania.
  
• Partidul Romania Mare is the most frequently
  mentioned as having an anti-Semitic discourse
  (84 of those who identified a political
  organization with this type of message).

8
SUMMARY

• Perceptions of minorities (1)
• Only a small proportion of Romanians perceives
  some minorities living in Romania as a threat,
  Roma (14) and Hungarians (11) registering the
  highest scores. Using a different analytical
  category, the same minorities are also mentioned
  as representing a problem for Romania (33 -
  Roma and 18 - Hungarians), without being labeled
  in this final case as minorities that represent
  a threat.
• The Jews are perceived in a neutral manner by
  almost one-third of all Romanian respondents,
  neither as a problem, nor as an advantage for
  Romania. This minority benefits also from
  positive responses, 15 of respondents consider
  that Jews have a useful contribution in certain
  regions and occupations and 10 declare that they
  are a valuable resource for our country.
• Most of the respondents (58-71) consider that
  minorities have the same rights as the rest of
  Romanian citizens.
  
• Some of the respondents (20) consider that the
  Hungarian minority has more rights than the
  Romanian majority and some (10) have the same
  opinion about the Roma minority.

9
SUMMARY

• Perceptions of minorities (2)
• In this section only ethnic Romanians opinions
  are analyzed
  
• Using Bogardus social distance measure scale
  (see the annex), where 1 indicates the closest
  accepted relationship with people from a certain
  minority (family member) and 7 the most distant
  (should not come to Romania), we notice there is
  a greater tolerance toward Jews (4.23) and
  Hungarians (4.21) and a significantly lower
  tolerance regarding Roma (5.14) and Arabs
  (5.18).
• These differences change depending on the
  respondents education level for Jews - from
  4.41 (for people with medium education) to 3.66
  (for people with academic education) - and
  similarly for Hungarians (from 4.35 to 3.85, at
  educational extremes).
• Regarding Roma and Arabs there are no
  significant differences, the social distance
  remaining the same for all educational levels.
  
• The smaller social distance towards Jews is due
  to the fact that they are accepted in the family
  (9), in friends groups (14) or as neighbors
  (11). There is also a smaller proportion (8) of
  those who declares Jews should not come to
  Romania.
• Towards the Hungarians, the behavior of ethnic
  Romanians is a similar one they are accepted as
  family members (8), in friends groups (13) or
  as neighbors (9) only 12 declares that
  Hungarians should not come to Romania.
• The Roma (39) are better accepted than Arabs
  (27) to live in Romania, but they have a similar
  weak position for other closer variants (only 2
  accepts having Roma in the family, 5 to have
  them in friends groups and 7 accepts having
  people from this minority as neighbors 22 of
  Romanians do not want Roma to come to Romania).

10
SUMMARY

• Perceptions of minorities (3)
• More than half of the respondents agree that Jews
  have good relations with the rest of the
  population, many important personalities in
  various fields and a lot of international
  influence. This last affirmation registered the
  higher scores 27 fully agree that Jews have a
  great deal of international influence.
• Jews represent an important minority for Romania
  according to 42 of the respondents and they
  represent a community which leads to the
  progress of the country where they are living.
  There is a problem with the last point many
  respondents (41) cannot mention - perhaps they
  dont know - the achievements of this minority.
• Only 22 of respondents believe that Jews should
  go to live in their country, while 42 does not
  agree with that, and about 20 agree that they
  are focused only on their own goals even if these
  are harming others. 35 does not agree with the
  last affirmation.
• Only 12 agree that Jews supported the
  instauration of communism in Romania, while about
  55 cannot answer this question.
  
• About 10 of respondents consider that Jewish
  actions lead to a lack of stability in the
  society, while 48 do not agree with that.

11
SUMMARY

• Perceptions of the Holocaust (1)
• Most of the respondents declared they have heard
  about the Holocaust (65), depending on their
  education level and their residence (the
  percentage increases with the education level and
  it is the lowest in rural areas).
• Most of those who declared they have heard about
  the HOLOCAUST, spontaneously define this term as
  extermination of the Jews by the Germans
  (54).
• The following affirmations are placed at a
  certain distance from the first one persecution
  of the European Jews (14), Mass crimes (8)
  and deportation of the Jews (7).
• The Holocaust is considered to have taken place
  in Germany by the majority of respondents (66)
  fewer respondents agreed that the Holocaust also
  took place in other European countries (39). 52
  of Hungarian respondents mentioned that the
  Holocaust took place in other European countries,
  significantly higher than average.
• About 28 agree the Holocaust took place in
  Romania and 27 cannot say in which countries
  this happened.
  
• Those who admitted there was a Holocaust in
  Romania, associated it with Deportation of Jews
  to isolated areas or to other countries (74),
  Mass imprisonment of Jews (67) and
  Expropriation and forced evacuation of Jews
  (62). Mass executions of Jews (pogrom) is
  rarely mentioned (26).

12
SUMMARY

• Perceptions of the Holocaust (2)
• Nazi Germany is considered mainly responsible
  for the Holocaust in Romania (79), followed at a
  certain distance by Antonescus government
  (11).
• When all responsible factors are considered,
  Nazis Germany is mentioned by 90 of respondents,
  Antonescus government by 47 and the USSR by
  11.
• The population is not highly interested in the
  Holocaust only 6 declared themselves interested
  or very interested in this topic.
  
• Those interested in Holocaust issues obtain
  information mainly from television (38), history
  books (14) and radio (11).
  
• About 22 know there is a national day
  commemorating the Holocaust in Romania.
  
• Only 10 people interviewed were able to mention
  the date of Holocaust Day in Romania.

13
SUMMARY

• Ion Antonescus image
• More than 40 of the respondents cannot make any
  assessments on Marshal Ion Antonescus
  personality, which shows a lack of knowledge of
  his activities and the events of that time.
• He is highly appreciated by some of the
  respondents as a great patriot (46), a great
  strategist (44), while 1/3 of the interviewed
  people believe he should be rehabilitated for
  what he did for Romania.
• About 24 agree that Ion Antonescu was a
  democratic leader, while 27 disagree. Similarly,
  22 admit that he achieved unification of the
  country (Great Romania), while 27 disagree with
  this affirmation.
• Only 15 consider that he rescued Jews, while
  31 do not agree with this affirmation.
  
• About 33 of respondents agree that he was
  responsible for crimes against gypsies and 28
  agree that he was a dictator.
  
• Only a quarter of respondents consider him
  responsible for crimes against Jews and about 20
  consider that he was a war criminal and led
  Romania to disaster, while 32 disagree with
  these last two affirmations.

14
SUMMARY

• Perception of the State of Israel
• The image of the State of Israel is rather
  unclear, close to a neutral point, which makes
  the respondents have very different opinions.
  
• Sometimes Israel is negatively perceived, as a
  non-democratic state which supports terrorism. It
  might influence the respondents who consider that
  Romania should not have closer relations with
  Israel.

15
Perceptions of democratic institutions
16
1. Generally speaking, how pleased are you about
democracy in our country?

• Democracy in Romania is considered rather
  unsatisfactory by the population, 43 being
  unpleased or very unpleased and only 19
  declaring that they are pleased or very pleased
  by this.
• This result could be influenced by political
  events during the data collection period
  (impeachment of the Romanian President by the
  Parliament).

Base 1026 respondents
17
2. How much do you trust the following
institutions in Romania

• Church (78) and Army (64) are institutions in
  which Romanians trust more, followed by local
  authorities (45) and Mass Media (44).
  
• Presidency (40), Police (39) and - at a
  certain distance - Judiciary (27) follow.
  
• Parliament (13) and Government (14) are placed
  on the opposite side.

Base 1026 respondents
18
19. In your opinion, are there parties or
political formations with anti-Semitic discourse
in Romania now?
20. Which parties?
Base 167 respondents who declared there
are parties with an anti-Semitic message in
Romania Each respondent could give more than one
answer
Base 1026 respondents

• Only a small proportion of respondents (16)
  declare there are parties with an anti-Semitic
  message in Romania.

• Partidul Romania Mare is most frequently
  mentioned as having anti-Semitic discourse (84
  of those who identified a political organization
  with this type of message).

19
Perception of minorities
The whole sample in this section are included
the responses from all respondents
20
3. Considering your general opinion about
national minorities in our country would you say
that these minorities represent
Base 1026 respondents

• Only a small proportion of Romanians perceive
  some minorities living in Romania as a threat
  Roma (14) and Hungarians (11) registered the
  highest scores on this. These two minorities are
  also mentioned as representing a problem for
  Romania (33 - Roma and 18 - Hungarians), but
  not a threat.
• Jews are rather perceived in a neutral manner by
  almost 1/3 of all Romanian respondents, neither
  as a problem, nor an advantage for Romania. This
  minority benefits also from positive responses,
  15 of respondents consider that Jews have a
  useful contribution in certain regions and
  occupations and 11 declaring that they are a
  valuable resource for our country.

21
4. Do you think the following minorities living
in Romania, compared to the majority of the
population have rights...
Base 1026 respondents

• Most of the respondents (58-71) consider that
  minorities have the same rights as the rest of
  Romanian citizens.
  
• There are some respondents who consider that the
  Hungarian minority has more rights than the
  Romanian majority (20), and 10 has the same
  opinion on the Roma minority.

22
5. Which of these best describes the closest
relationship you would accept with people
belonging to the following minorities?
Base 1026 respondents

• A smaller social distance regarding Jews is
  generated by the fact that they could be accepted
  in the family (7), as personal friends (12) or
  as neighbors (10) and by the fact that there is
  a smaller proportion (7) of those who declare
  that Jews shouldnt have come to Romania.
• Regarding the Hungarians, the Romanians have a
  similar comportment accepting them as family
  members (12), as personal friends (11) or as
  neighbors (7), while 9 declare that Hungarians
  shouldnt have come to Romania.
• Related to the citizenship variable, the Roma
  are better accepted compared to the Arabs 34 of
  all respondents accept this right for the Roma
  while only 22 for the Arabs. These two groups
  have a similar weak position for other nearness
  variables (e.g. only 2 agree to have Roma in the
  family, 5 to have them in friends group and 6
  accept having people from this minority as
  neighbors, and 19 of Romanians want Roma not to
  come to Romania).

23
5. Which of these best describes the closest
relationship you would accept with people
belonging to the following minorities?
Base 1026 respondents

• Using Bogardus social distance measure scale (see
  the annex), where 1 indicates the closest
  accepted relation with people from a certain
  minority (family member) and 7 the most distant
  (shouldnt come to Romania), we notice there is a
  greater tolerance toward the Jews (4.23) and the
  Hungarians (4.21) and a significantly lower
  tolerance regarding the Roma (5.14) and the Arabs
  (5.18).
• These differences change depending on the
  respondents education level for Jews - from
  4.41 (for people with mid-level education) to
  3.66 (for people with academic education) - and
  similarly for Hungarians (from 4.35 to 3.85, at
  educational extremes).
• For the Roma and the Arabs there are no
  significant differences, the social distance
  regarding those two minorities remains the same
  for all educational levels.

24
6. Considering now only the Jews, to which extent
do you agree or disagree with the following
affirmations?
Base 1026 respondents
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS

• More than half of respondents agree the Jews
  have good relations with the rest of the
  population, many important personalities in
  various fields and a lot of international
  influence. This last affirmation registered the
  highest scores 27 fully agree that Jews have a
  lot of international influence.
• The Jews represent an important minority for
  Romania according to 42 of the respondents and
  they Represent a community which leads to the
  progress of the country where they are living.
  There is a problem with the last point many
  respondents (41) cannot mention - perhaps they
  dont know - the achievements of this minority.

25
6. Considering now only the Jews, to which extent
do you agree or disagree with the following
affirmations?
Base 1026 respondents
NEGATIVE AFFIRMATIONS

• Only 22 of respondents believe that the Jews
  should go to live in their country, while 42 do
  not agree with that, and about 20 agree that
  they are focused only on their own goals even if
  these are harming others interests. 35 do not
  agree with this affirmation.
• Only 12 agree that the Jews supported the
  instauration of communism in Romania, while about
  55 cannot answer this question.
  
• About 10 of respondents consider that Jewish
  actions lead to a lack of stability in the
  society, while 48 dont agree with that.

26
Perceptions of minorities
In this section only the opinions of the ethnic
Romanians are analyzed
27
3. Considering your general opinion about
national minorities in our country would you say
that these minorities represent
Base 927 Romanian ethnic respondents

• Only a small proportion of Romanians perceives
  part of the minorities living in Romania as a
  threat Roma (14) and Hungarians (13)
  registered the highest scores on this. These two
  minorities are also mentioned representing a
  problem for Romania (33 - Roma and 19 -
  Hungarians), but not as a threat.
• Jews are perceived in a neutral manner by almost
  one-third of all Romanian respondents, neither as
  a problem, nor as a perceived advantage for
  Romania. This minority benefits also from
  positive responses, 15 of respondents consider
  that Jews have a useful contribution in certain
  regions and occupations and 10 declare that they
  are a valuable resource for our country.

28
4. Do you think the following minorities living
in Romania, compared to the majority of the
population have rights...
Base 927 Romanian ethnic respondents

• Most of respondents (58-72) consider that
  minorities have the same rights as all the rest
  of Romanian citizens.
  
• There are some respondents who consider that the
  Hungarian minority has more rights than the
  Romanian majority (21), and 11 has the same
  opinion on the Roma minority.

29
5. Which of these best describes the closest
relationship you would accept with people
belonging to the following minorities?
Base 927 Romanian ethnic respondents

• A smaller social distance regarding Jews is
  generated by the fact that they are accepted in
  the family (9), in a group of friends (14) or
  as neighbors (11) and by the fact there is a
  smaller proportion (8) of those who declares
  that Jews shouldnt have come to Romania.
• Regarding the Hungarians, the Romanians have a
  similar comportment accepting them as family
  members (8), in friends groups (13) or as
  neighbors (9), while 12 declare that Hungarians
  shouldnt have come to Romania.
• Related to the citizenship variable, the Roma
  are better accepted comparative to the Arabs 39
  of all respondents accept this right for the Roma
  while only 27 for the Arabs. These two groups
  have a similar weak position for other nearness
  variables (e.g. only 2 agree to accept Roma in
  the family, 5 to have them in friends groups, 7
  accept having people from this minority as
  neighbors, and 22 of Romanians want Roma not to
  come to Romania).

30
5. Which of these best describes the closest
relationship you would accept with people
belonging to the following minorities?
Base 927 Romanian ethnic respondents

• Using Bogardus social distance measure scale (see
  the annex), where 1 indicates the closest
  accepted relationship with people from a certain
  minority (Family member) and 7 the most distant
  (Shouldnt come to Romania), we notice there is a
  greater tolerance toward the Jews (4.29) and the
  Hungarians (4.46) and a significantly lower
  tolerance regarding the Roma (5.16) and the Arabs
  (5.17).
• These differences change depending on the
  respondents education level for Jews - from
  4.49 (for people with mid-level education) to
  3.77 (for people with academic education) - and
  similarly for Hungarians (from 4.67 to 3.95, at
  educational extremes).
• For the Roma and the Arabs there are no
  significant differences, the social distance
  regarding those two minorities remains the same
  for all educational levels.

31
6. Considering now only the Jews, to which extent
do you agree or disagree with the following
affirmations?
Base 927 Romanian ethnic respondents
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS

• More than half of respondents agree the Jews
  have good relations with the rest of the
  population, a lot of important personalities in
  various fields and a great deal of international
  influence. This last affirmation registered the
  highest scores 27 fully agree that Jews have a
  great deal of international influence.
• The Jews represent an important minority for
  Romania according to 42 of the respondents and
  they represent a community which leads to the
  progress of the country where they are living.
  There is a problem with the last point many
  respondents (41) cannot mention - perhaps they
  do not know - the achievements of this minority.

32
6. Considering now only the Jews, to which extent
do you agree or disagree with the following
affirmations?
Base 927 Romanian ethnic respondents
NEGATIVE AFFIRMATIONS

• Only 23 of respondents believe that the Jews
  should go to live in their country, while 42 do
  not agree, and about 20 agree that they are
  focused only on their own goals even if these are
  harming the interests of others. 35 do not agree
  with this affirmation.
• Affirmation that the Jews supported the
  establishment of communism in Romania obtain only
  12 agreement, and about 55 of Romanian
  respondents cannot answer this.
• About 10 of respondents consider that Jewish
  actions lead to a lack of stability in the
  society, while 48 do not agree with that.

33
Perceptions of the HOLOCAUST
34
8. Have you heard about the HOLOCAUST?
Base 1026 respondents

• Most of respondents declare that they are aware
  of the Holocaust (65), depending on their
  education level and their residence (the lowest
  awareness is in the rural areas).

35
9. Please tell me what do you mean by HOLOCAUST?
Each respondent could give more than one answer
Base 1026 respondents
Base 667 respondents who declared that they kno
w
about Holocaust

• Most of the people who declared in the previous
  question that they have heard about the
  HOLOCAUST, spontaneously define this term as
  Jews extermination by Germans (54).
• The following affirmations are placed at a
  certain distance from the first one persecution
  of European Jews (14), Mass crimes (8) and
  deportation of Jews (7).

36
10. Considering the HOLOCAUST represents the
systematic state organized persecution and
extermination of the Jewish people by Nazi
Germany, allies and collaborators between 1933
and 1945, do you think this happened
Base 1026 respondents

• The Holocaust is considered to have takne place
  in Germany by the majority of respondents (66)
  fewer respondents agreed that the Holocaust also
  took place in other European countries (39). 52
  of ethnic Hungarian respondents mentioned that
  the Holocaust took place in other European
  countries, significantly higher than average.
• Only about 28 of respondents agree that the
  Holocaust also took place in Romania, and about
  27 cannot name any country.

37
11. What did the HOLOCAUST in Romania consist of?
Each respondent could give more than one answer
Base 283 respondents who declared that HOLOCAUS
T
happened also in Romania

• The respondents who declared that the Holocaust
  also took place in Romania associated it most
  often with Deportation of Jews in isolated areas
  or other countries (74), followed by Mass
  imprisonments of Jews (67) and Expropriation
  and forced evacuation of Jews (62). Mass
  executions of Jews (pogrom) is rarely mentioned
  (26).

38
12. In your opinion, who was responsible for the
HOLOCAUST in Romania?
Base 283 respondents who declared that HOLOCAUST
happened also in Romania
Each respondent could give more than one answer

• Nazi Germany is considered as being mainly
  responsible for the Holocaust in Romania (79)
  followed at a certain distance by Antonescus
  government (11).
• Considering all responsible factors, Nazis
  Germany was mentioned by 90 of respondents,
  Antonescus Government by 47, and the USSR by
  11.

39
14. How much are you interested in the HOLOCAUST?
15. What is your information source for the
HOLOCAUST?
Base 853 respondents who declared an interest
Base 1026 respondents
Each respondent could give more than one answer

• The population is not highly interested in the
  Holocaust only 6 declared themselves interested
  or very interested in this topic.
  

• The main information sources for those who are
  interested in the Holocaust are television (38),
  followed by history books (14) and radio (11).

40
16. Is there a national day for HOLOCAUST
commemoration in Romania?
Base 1026 respondents

• About 22 know there is a national day for
  Holocaust commemoration in Romania.
  
• Only 10 of all the people interviewed mentioned
  the date of this event.

41
Ion Antonescus Image
42
18. Ion Antonescu governed Romania between 1940
and 1944. I will read some attributes of a state
leader and Id like you to tell me how these fit
his character?
Base 1026 respondents
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS

• More than 40 of the respondents cannot make any
  assessments on Marshal Ion Antonescus
  personality, which shows a lack of knowledge
  about his activities and the events of that time.
  
• He is highly appreciated by some of the
  respondents as a great patriot (46), a great
  strategist (44), while 1/3 of the people
  interviewed believe he should be rehabilitated
  for what he has done for Romania.
• About 24 agree that Ion Antonescu was a
  democratic leader, while 27 disagree. Similarly,
  22 admit that he achieved the unification of the
  country (Great Romania), while 27 disagree with
  this affirmation.
• Only 15 consider him a rescuer of the Jews,
  while 31 do not agree with this statement.

43
18. Ion Antonescu governed Romania between 1940
and 1944. I will read some attributes of a state
leader and Id like you to tell me how these fit
his character?
Base 1026 respondents
NEGATIVE AFFIRMATIONS

• Almost 33 of the respondents agree that he was
  responsible for crimes against gypsies and 28
  agree that he was a dictator.
  
• Only a quarter of respondents consider him
  responsible for crimes against Jews and about 20
  consider that he led Romania to disaster and was
  a war criminal. About 32 disagree with the last
  two statements.

44
Perception of the State of Israel
45
7. Considering Israel and everything you know
about it, what is your opinion regarding this
country?
Base 1026 respondents
NEUTRAL 2,5

• Israel has a rather unclear image, close to a
  neutral point, which divides the opinions of
  respondents.
  
• In some regards the image of Israel is negative,
  an image of a non-democratic state which supports
  terrorism. This might influence the respondents
  who consider that Romania should not have closer
  relations with Israel.

46
7. Considering Israel and everything you know
about it, what is your opinion regarding this
country?
Base 927 Romanian ethnic respondents
NEUTRAL 2,5

• When the analysis was focused only on the
  Romanian ethnic group we found that, with some
  small differences, the entire population holds
  similar opinions.