ABSTRACT
The high levels of support for the government and the high rate of knowledge is especially fascinating in light of the low levels of influence Israelis believe they have over security and defense matters. Supporters of the Alignment defense position thought the media treated the security issue in a responsible way compared to the Likud supporters, and they had a higher rate of correct answers to the political questions. There were almost no differences between the two groups about whether they understood enough about security issues to express an opinion or whether they can influence security policy. Political scientists and democratic theorists have considered the role of public opinion on policy in general and on international relations in particular. There were very slight differences in the distribution of opinion when considered by various background factors. While the range in distribution patterns is larger, this category included examples of using war in an offensive sense.
