Predictions? Resist the temptation
Predictions? Resist the temptationMiriam Alster/Flash 90

Whatever polls appear in the coming days, there is one statistic that election-watchers need to keep in mind: 61% of Jewish Israeli Hebrew-speaking voters have not made up their mind for whom to vote in next March's elections. That number comes from a poll taken over the weekend by TRI Strategy, a well-known polling firm in Israel.

Of the voters who say they have already made up their minds on what party to choose, the large majority are members of the hareidi and religious communities. 27.6% of voters, mostly college graduates, said they “think they know who they will vote for,” while 27.4% said they had not yet decided. About 6% said that as things stand now, they have decided not to vote at all.

When asked to choose who would be the best prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu maintained a wide edge over his competitors. 44.7% of those polled preferred Netanyahu as the nation's leader, while 33.6% said Yitzchak Herzog or Tzippy Livni would be better. 22% said they didn't want any of the three running Israel.

The pollsters said that the high number of undecideds indicated that a last minute surprise – like a resurgence of popularity for Yair Lapid – was a strong possibility.