A lesson on how to cleverly mislead the public
FAKE NEWS? LIBA declares 71% Israelis prefer to marry via Rabbinate!
The LIBA Center, which proclaims to be "dedicated to strengthening the Jewish Character of the State of Israel" (Namely: perpetuating and expanding religious coercion in Israel) once again demonstrated how to mislead the public by means of statistics, bringing to memory the classic 1954 book "How to Lie With Statistics".
Uri Regev 17/08/2017 13:09
Tags: LIBA center · marriage · marriage freedom · statistics · surveys
Wedding rings
Several days after Hiddush published a survey showing that 67% of the adult Israeli Jewish public supports that Israel enacts freedom of choice in marriage, and 50% would prefer not to get married in an Orthodox wedding, the LIBA Center published its own survey, which purports to prove the opposite... [LINK]
The LIBA survey was conducted by the same polling institute, headed by a renowned pollster - Rafi Smith, enabling us to assume that the same sampling methodology and reliability is ensured.
The LIBA Center's misleading claim becomes clear when the language of its survey question is compared to those of Hiddush. LIBA's question was worded as follows: "Regardless of your personal situation, how would you recommend your children marry? A marriage performed by a rabbi *certified/ordained* by the Chief Rabbinate, or *alternative marriage* outside the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate?" This question is clearly biased and misleading on 2 counts:
- "Alternative marriages" are not recognized by the State of Israel at all at this time, and do not result with granting the couple the status of "married".
- LIBA's survey question is formulated much like a question asking the public whether they prefer, for medical services, a "certified physician" or "alternative medicine."
The appropriate question, if the intention is to gauge and measure the extent of public support for the current Chief Rabbinate's Orthodox monopoly over marriages or a change which allows for freedom of choice, has to present all options as equally available and legally recognized. Therefore, Hiddush's survey question was worded as follows: "... What framework would you choose for marriage (assuming that all these alternatives exist and are equally recognized by law)?" It compellingly emerges that once free choice in marriage is recognized by the State of Israel, the public's preferences change dramatically.
The extent to which LIBA's claims are erroneous, if not preposterous, is noticeable, for example, in LIBA's claim that 60% of the centrist, civil Yesh Atid party's voters prefer for their children to get married under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate.
The extent to which LIBA's claims are erroneous, if not preposterous, is noticeable, for example, in LIBA's claim that 60% of the centrist, civil Yesh Atid party's voters prefer for their children to get married under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate. Compare this to the fact, compatible with these voters' views on all matters of religious freedom, that 70% of Yesh Atid party voters responded to a Hiddush survey, saying that they would prefer not to have Orthodox marriage ceremonies for themselves or their children, if alternatives were available and legally recognized!
Equally significant is the question of the public's principled support, beyond personal preferences, for the State of Israel fully legalizing and recognizing freedom of choice in marriage and abolishing the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly. Namely - public support for the right of all Israelis to choose freely how to marry, even if the respondent's own preference is for an Orthodox wedding. Not surprisingly, this question was not asked by LIBA. In all surveys conducted in recent years, a clear and compelling majority of the Jewish Israeli public has supported the principle of freedom of choice in marriage, and for the State to make it legally and equally possible! The most recent Hiddush survey is available HERE.
The significance of all this is obvious. Often the question is asked, both in Israel and in the Diaspora: "What do Israelis say, what do they prefer?" Therefore, next time you encounter LIBA's publications, and in particular their survey findings, it would be worthwhile to think twice about their integrity and reliability. What guides LIBA is not a sincere desire to examine the public's positions, but rather to perpetuate the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly and to strengthen state empowered religious coercion in Israel.