Public trust is becoming a growing concern for "Israel". The decline in the trust of the public, from the very army of the occupation to the bottom of society, is expressed in numbers, according to a recent Israeli study by the "Israel Democracy Institute." 

The Institute conducts annual consensus in the Israeli society, and the latest marks the nineteenth edition, which has been revealed today, Thursday. There has been a significant decrease in the trust in the Israeli army, receding to 78% - the lowest number since after the July 2006 war on Lebanon. 

The study is named the "Israeli Democracy Index for 2021" and it includes an update to the Institute's previous poll in June 2021. 

In the poll, the President got a 58% trust rate. Meanwhile, trust in the Supreme Court increased by 6% compared to June, reaching 48%. However, confidence in Israeli police has declined significantly to 33.5%. The government falls to the bottom of the list, attaining only 27% of confidence, next to media which holds 25%, and the Knesset, holding 21%, then the political parties which have a meager 10% confidence. 

Isaac Herzog, the Israeli President, threw something close to a tantrum, "The fall in Israeli citizens' confidence in state institutions is deeply troubling. There is no substitute for Israel's democracy, and there is no substitute for its state institutions, and therefore the loss of confidence keeps me awake at night. No state can exist if its citizens do not have confidence in it and its institutions." 

He continues, "Public confidence is the most important asset that any state system or institution has, and the prolonged decline in public confidence is a warning light for all of us. I believe that the growing tension and distrust between authorities–the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary–have brought about a decline in the public's confidence, seeing and hearing all these brawls and words of criticism–some to-the-point, some less so. And when confrontationalism replaces partnership and collaboration–the results are clear. But it bears clarifying that this is not a decree of fate. We can and must act otherwise."

In turn, Or Heller, a military commentator on Israeli Channel 13, said, "It seems to me that Chief of Staff [Aviv] Kochavi is concerned about the decline in confidence in the Israeli army. Today, the Israeli Democracy Institute published its index, which indicated that only 78% of Israelis express confidence in the Israeli army, and when we look at the percentage related to the generation of young people from 18 to 24 years old, the percentage is even lower."