The 2004 Social Survey

The survey complements our analysis of allocations for the social services by illuminating the opinions of the service recipients — the public at large — and enriches the debate at the Taub Center on major issues in the social services:  education, health, social disparities, personal security, income, and employment. This year’s survey asked twenty-three questions, in addition to eight background questions providing information on the respondent’s gender, education, income level, religious observance, time of immigration, and so on.

The findings are presented in three main dimensions:  the public’s attitude toward current social policy and its effects on society; the effect of social policy on the individual’s personal situation; and, the public’s attitudes on issues relating to values and ideologies. The longitudinal aspect allows an analysis of changes in the public’s sense of its well-being and its evaluation of government policy in various fields and, in other cases, reveals its attitudes toward important social policy issues.

This paper appears as a chapter in the Center’s annual publication, Israel’s Social Services 2004, Yaakov Kop (editor).