A joint study undertaken by Haifa University and Ben Gurion University showed that public trust in the security forces went up meaningfully in 2009. Of all branches of public service, the security forces enjoy the most trust, and of these services – the one that enjoyed the greatest improvement in public faith was the IDF. The study rated trust on a scale of 1 to 5. It found that the public's trust in the IDF in late 2009 was at 3.89, compared to 3.61 in 2008. Trust in the Shin Bet (ISS) was 4.01, compared to to 3.88 in 2008. There was also a rise in the trust the public feels in the people who serve in the armed forces. A report in the IDF website called this rise “dramatic.” Trust in the soldiers serving in the conscripted army (chovah) was 4.08, compared to 3.89 in 2008. Trust in the IDF's commanders and officers was at 3.94 – up from 3.75. Trust in the Shin Bet (ISS) personnel was at 4.02 – up from 3.93 in 2008. Trust in the Mossad agents was 4.08 – compared to 3.90 in 2008. Studies showed that the public's faith in the IDF sank after the Second Lebanon War. However recently – and especially after the successful 'Cast Lead' operation – public satisfaction in the security establishment rose. The researchers say that the public perceives that the IDF has undergone “a physical and normative rehabilitation.” The study was conducted by the departments for management and public policy in the Haifa University and Ben Gurion University, which are headed by Prof. Eran Vigoda-Gadot and Prof. Shlomo Mizrachi, respectively.
