A new poll released Thursday found most Israelis optimistic about the future, however, the Israeli Arabs -- some 20 percent of the state's 7.8 million residents -- feel less proud of their societal status than in 2011, and cite discrimination, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The annual Israeli Democracy Index poll, conducted by Prof. Tamar Hermann of the Israel Democratic Institute, sketches a portrait of public opinion on core issues connected to the country 's democratic values.

The study, conducted among 1,025 Israeli adults, of them, 834 Jews and 191 Arabs, included 57 questions.

Responses showed that 75.6 percent of Israelis are optimistic about the country's future, against 21.8 percent who were pessimistic. The figure divides into 78.8 percent among Jews who are optimistic about the country's future and 60.2 percent of the Arab respondents.

When asked about their reasons for being optimistic, 21.5 percent of Jewish respondents said they rely on the security forces to defend them. Other reasons that were cited included societal solidarity (13.7 percent), patriotism (12.2 percent), family (8.4 percent), economy and technology (7.1 percent), and religion (6.4 percent).

However, although the poll found that 58.3 percent of the Jewish respondents said that Israeli Arab citizens are not discriminated against, a 74.9 percent majority among the Arabs hold that they are.

The study further found that while 44.5 percent of Israel's Arab population takes pride in being Israeli, there is still a decline from last year's figure of 52.8 percent. Meanwhile, 30 percent said they are not at all proud.

Asked which institutions they trust, Arabs put the Supreme Court first, followed by the police and then the media. The institutions they trust the least are political parties and the prime minister -- less than a third of them trust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while 80 percent trust the Supreme Court.

Moreover, the poll showed that nearly 70 percent of Arabs felt they have minimal or no ability to influence government policy.