About the HU-EF Barometer
History, geography, language and image matter when it comes to the way how a country is seen from the outside. Such perceptions, however, can be altered over time, depending also on the political context and the national eye of the beholder. Bilateral relations between states are influenced by such views and opinions.
This is particularly relevant for Israel and its ties to Europe which is a rather complex issue. One the one hand, shared values and increased common geopolitical and security interests make them natural partners and allies. On the other hand, however, these relations are often also fraught with disagreements over Israel’s Middle East policies and/or with accusations of Antisemitism. While the Old Continent has been seen by many Israelis in this context as an overall critical place with a dark history, they are also differentiating between the various national outlooks.
Gathering data in a systematic and continuous way
The HU-EF Barometer aims to place itself at the juncture of these multi-directional relations, by gathering data on mutual perceptions in a systematic and continuous way. We also make a point to ask in our surveys about concrete experiences (exposures, visits and encounters). By providing a timeline, we aim to measure, on a regular basis, the pulse of various bilateral ties from both sides as well as the Israeli perception of Europe as a whole. The HU-EU Barometer builds partly on unique data collected from 1992 to 2011 by the Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The HU-EU Barometer was launched in 2022, with three surveys focusing on Israeli perceptions of Europe, Israeli perceptions of Germany and German perceptions of Israel. In 2024, our surveys were extended and included - next to Israel and Germany - also Great Britain, France and Poland.
The data can now be compared horizontally (between the various states) and vertically (measuring the pulse over time), transforming the interactive data-base of the HU-EU Barometer into a unique platform not only for scholarly research, but also for think tanks, experts on foreign affairs, policy advisors as well as educators, journalists and the general public.
Methodology
How is it done? Practically, we are hiring local pollsters in each country to collect the data. In 2022, we worked with the PORI institute in Tel Aviv (who already conducted the polls for the Koebner Institute in the past) as well as with infas in Germany. While the past surveys in Israel had been carried out through person-to-person interviews, the Barometer 2024 was conducted online in all participating countries.
The surveys 2024 were carried out by Kantar between February-March 2024 with a total of 1,000 men and women from each country (Israel, Germany, France, Great Britain, Poland) constituting a nationally representative sample of the adult population aged 18 and over. The maximum sampling error was 3.1% at a confidence level of 95%.
The next round is scheduled for 2026.
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