What Israelis know about BRICS

Historical material. Dates, proposals and invitations refer to the time of the original publication.

From geopolitical preferences to awareness

As indicated by the data presented above, responses regarding the Global South generally fall within the margin of error and are therefore not subject to quantitative analysis. Meanwhile, Israelis tend to view Israel not as aligning with one side or another but rather as neutral, focusing on building constructive relationships with other countries. This suggests that despite the prevailing orientation towards the West, Israelis are open to mutually beneficial cooperation and good relations with the Global South.

With whom should relations be built, and what is meant by the Global South? The authors treat BRICS as one institutional expression of it. Both published tables show 6.4% familiar with its activities,19.2% having heard of it without knowing details,19.4% knowing only the name and 55% never having heard of it. Figures follow the tables; the original prose is retained.

Familiarity with BRICS

Know its activities	6.4%
Heard of it, without details	19.2%
Know only the name	19.4%
Never heard of it	55%

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Differences between groups

As with most other questions, women are more likely to choose the «Don’t know» option (63.4% compared to 47.1% among men). However, there is no significant difference in the level of knowledge about the organization. Awareness of this organization is also virtually unrelated to the degree of (non)religiosity or financial status.

TABLE 5.1. ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE BRICS ORGANIZATION? %

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However, in the Arab sector and among those from the former Soviet Union, they are significantly more likely to speak about being aware of this organization and less likely to speak about not being aware than among Jews and native Israelis.

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Table 5.2. Awareness of BRICS organization activities % /national sector and country of birth

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The difference in awareness of this organization among groups categorized by secularity, level of religiosity, and material well-being is mostly within the margin of statistical error.

How the age index works

 There is no clear trend between age and level of awareness, but differences in response shares do exist. Therefore, to determine the awareness levels by age, an index was calculated by assigning weights to each response option according to the degree of the parameter’s expression. The highest weight (1) was assigned to the option indicating the highest level of awareness («I know about the organization’s activities»). As the degree of awareness decreased, the weights of the responses also decreased («I have heard about it, but do not know the details,» weight = 0.75; «I have only heard the name,» weight = 0.35). The response indicating a lack of awareness was assigned a negative weight (-1). These weights were multiplied by the corresponding response values, which were then summed up. This approach allowed us to see not only the level of awareness but also to determine the prevailing characteristic of the parameter: awareness or lack of awareness. The results showed negative published indices in all groups. The claim that unawareness is highest in the 55+ group needs clarification: a separate calculation from the printed cells is shown below [editorial clarification].

Question 5.4 Level of awareness of BRICS % /age

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To the table of contents

Sources and context

Original publication