Zogby Poll: Muslims and Jews in Israel Share Values

April 7, 2004

Source: Zogby International

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=817

On April 7, 2004 Zogby International reported, "A new global religion study by the University of Rochester and Zogby International of 11 different religious groups shows that people around the world hold many similar values, and are very similar in steps they would take to achieve their personal goals. In Israel, Jews and Muslims consider being well educated (91%) of highest importance, followed by achieving economic security (89%), and spending time with family (87%).  The least important personal goal of both religious groups was being active in politics, and they are divided overall on whether being actively religious is important or not. University of Rochester’s Dean William Scott Green noted: 'This study revealed a large number of interesting facts and trends, and we are still sorting them all out. Among Jews and Muslims in Israel, there are few differences in their values, and certainly nothing to suggest any basic incompatibility between the religious groups.' When separated by religious belief, Israeli Muslims and Jews share their belief in the importance of most personal goals, yet differ on a few.  Being well educated is the primary goal of Muslims, and the second most important of Jews, who rank the achievement of economic security as most important.  Economic security ranks a close 4th among Muslims."