The Right News

Right-wing Israelis outnumber those on the left by at least two-to-one, pollster Rafi Smith of the Rafi Smith Institute said on Wednesday. He based his conclusion in part on a telephone poll he conducted Tuesday of 1,700 people who said they had voted, with a 2.4 percentage point margin of error.

When asked to identify their political beliefs, 30 percent of respondents said they were right wing, 13% said they were center-right, 23%-24% said they were center, 13% said they were center-left and 6% said they were on the Left. Another 15 percent refused to answer.

Smith said the number of left-wing voters was higher than what was reflected in the combined 16 mandates the Labor and Meretz parties received in Tuesday's election, a drop of eight from the 24 seats they garnered in 2006.

Still, that number was a significant drop from the 1992 vote, when Labor and Meretz together won 56 mandates, he said.

"We are in a different time and the Israeli public has turned rightward, as expressed in this election," Smith said.