What the People Want
Hiddush Shows two-thirds of Israelis Support Civil Marriage
Researchers Drs. Guy Ben-Porat and Yariv Feniger posit that because there is a gap between support for civil marriage and personal interest in having a civil marriage, major political parties do not promote the issue. Hiddush CEO Rabbi Regev: “Leading up to elections, people need to demand that the political party leaders commit themselves to…carry out a civil revolution, including freedom of choice in marriage”
26/07/2011 11:12
Tags: Civil marriage · Hiddush report · polls
''Putting Us All in One Box''--from the Campaign for Free Marriage in Israel
The Knesset is expected to vote on July 27 on the law about civil marriage and divorce, initiated by the Forum for Free Marriage in Israel. There is serious concern that, as in the passed, the bill will be rejected. 63% of the adult Jewish population in Israel supports allowing civil marriage. 31.6% of the Jewish population, almost one-third, are either certain or think it possible that they would have a civil marriage were it a possibility. In other words, the number of supporters of legalizing civil marriage is more than double the number those that intend to exercise this right.
This fascinating gap between support for civil marriage and the intention to exercise the right is the subject of a research paper issued on July 26 by Drs. Guy Ben-Porat and Yariv Feniger at Ben-Gurion University. Hiddush - Freedom of Religion for Israel published the paper based on a survey conducted by researchers at the B.I. and Lucille Cohen Institute for Public Opinion Research in the Social Sciences Department at Tel Aviv University, surveying 605 respondents, who constituted a representative sample of the adult Jewish population in Israel.
According to their findings, a large majority, 63% of respondents support allowing civil marriage. 25% were opposed and 12% did not respond. Among those that categorize themselves as secular, 88% support civil marriage: among Kadima supporters, 83%, among Labor supporters 85%, among Yisrael Beitenu supporters 82% and among Likud voters, only 46%. Feniger and Ben-Porat hypothesize that the main reason for the discrepancy between the Likud voters and the other major parties is that most Likud voters are not secular, but rather traditional or Orthodox.
When asked to imagine legal civil marriage in Israel, 31.6% of the respondents answered that they are sure or think they would have a civil union. 83.8% said they were confident that they would not. Among the secular respondents, more than half (53.8%) think they would marry in a civil ceremony. The researchers conclude that, “support in principle for civil marriage does not translate into a personal preference.”
63% support the option of civil marriage
Ben-Porat and Feniger estimate that the gap between personal interest and in-principle support is probably why most of the major parties do not place civil marriage as a central issue on their agenda. They believe that “as long as most of the Jewish public is not interested in a civil ceremony themselves, it will be difficult for this subject to deviate from the edge of the political agenda.” They propose encouraging more and more Israelis to get married outside of the Rabbinate, so as to make recognition of their civil marriages more of a personal issue.
Hiddush CEO Rabbi Uri Regev says, “Feniger and Ben-Porat’s research proves, once again, the decisive support of the Israeli public for religious freedom. As soon as the public has the real option for a civil marriage, the number of those that take advantage of this option will increase.”
“Israeli voters,” Regev continued, “are tired of election-time promises to respect religious freedom and equality, after which coalitions are formed with ultra-Orthodox parties and they continue to disregard the principles of freedom of religion. The public understands more and more how this undermines the democratic character of Israel and damages both Israel’s security and economy. This is also how the broader world perceives this issue.” Regev called on Knesset members to rise up on Wednesday, vote for the will of the public and pass the civil marriage and divorces law initiated by the Forum for Free Marriage in Israel.
“Leading up to elections, people need to demand that the political party leaders commit themselves publicly and explicitly to establishing a civil government to carry out a civil revolution, including freedom of choice in marriage.”
To see the article in Hebrew on Haaretz.co.il, click here
To see the full report in Hebrew, click here