Popular pollster Mina Tzemach of the Dachaf Institute said today that her latest survey shows that 65% of the populace supports the disengagement plan. "This number includes many Arabs, and we cannot be certain that they would participate in the actual vote," she said. She said that though much is being made of how exactly to word the question in a referendum, "it's not that much of an issue. In a survey, the question is placed to the respondent suddenly, and he responds without much thought. In the case of a referendum, however, the question will be widely publicized, and both sides will have plenty of time to explain their positions."
Tzemach further said that the concept of a referendum, though it appears to be "democracy at its best," actually has some democratic pitfalls: "It could be used in the future on different issues to harm minority interests. For instance, if the issue of drafting yeshiva students would come up, the exemptions would certainly be canceled, without a chance for negotiations, compromise, and the like."
It must be emphasized that though the country is bracing for the fateful Knesset vote ten days from now on the unilateral disengagement plan, that vote will have little practical significance. After a bill passes its first reading, it is returned to the relevant Knesset committee for its final formulation, and is then returned to the full plenum for its final readings.