59% support granting equal status to the major Jewish denominations

2022 Israel Religion & State Index

A large majority of the Jewish public want freedom of religion, civil marriage, public transportation on Shabbat, conscription of yeshiva students, cuts to yeshiva budgets, enforcement of core curricular studies and more.

17/10/2022 23:03

Tags: Hiddush polls ·  Religion and State Index ·  Religion & State Index ·  Israel Religion and State Index ·  IRSI

Impact of religion & state on voters, source: 2022 Israel Religion & State Index

The Index provides a detailed analysis of positions, with breakdowns by religious and political views, changes in views over time, and additional relevant background variables. There is an emphasis on both the views of individuals who have determined whom they would vote for and on those who are as yet undecided, and whether issues of religion and state would influence their choice.

A key to understanding the views of Israelis on these and related issues is the breakdown of the adult Jewish population according to the level of religious identity on the one side, and of political outlook on the other:

Some examples of findings that should be of particular interest to Diaspora Jewry include:

• Jewish pluralism: 59% support granting equal status in Israel to the three major streams in Judaism: Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. The majority of the adult Jewish public does not associate itself with any religious stream [58%]. Eleven percent associate themselves with the ultra-Orthodox stream, 2% - national ultra-Orthodox, 20% - national religious, and 9% identify themselves as Reform or Conservative.
• How do Israelis feel about Diaspora intervention in matters of religion/state? In reply to the question: "Various organizations in Diaspora Judaism are working to strengthen religious freedom and pluralism in Israel [for example free choice in marriage, abolishing the Rabbinate's monopoly on conversion, etc.] What is your position?" 63% expressed support for this, compared to 37% who opposed it. Ninety-seven percent of Yesh Atid voters, 93% of Labor/Meretz voters and 90% of Blue-White - New Hope voters support this, while Likud voters are divided on the question [49% support and 51% oppose].
• Who is a Jew - Jewish status of immigrants from the former USSR: Many immigrants from the former USSR immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return as members of Jewish families, even though they themselves are not Jewish according to Halacha (as interpreted by the Chief Rabbinate). Thirty-three percent of the Jewish public is of the opinion that the immigrants should be recognized by the State as Jews only if they undergo Orthodox conversion. Thirty-five percent are of the opinion that they should be recognized as Jews if they identify as Jews, even without religious conversion, and another 32% are of the opinion that Israel should recognize them as Jews if they convert through a religious conversion which is customarily Jewish, whether it is Orthodox, Conservative or Reform.

Religious freedom, equality and politics

The compelling conclusion after studying the Index survey is that in the realm of religion and state there is a huge gap between the parties seeking to lead the next government and the public they claim to represent, as the following examples demonstrate:

50% of respondents stated that a party's positions in favor of religious freedom and equality, such as public transportation on Shabbat, civil marriage and divorce, conscription of yeshiva students, prevention of the exclusion of women, etc., would increase the likelihood that they would vote for that party.

• Inclusion of the ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition: only 33% support the inclusion of the ultra-Orthodox parties in the Coalition and the acceptance of their demands on religious issues. 39% support their inclusion but on the condition that they relinquish their demands, and another 28% oppose the inclusion of the ultra-orthodox parties in the coalition. Among the voters of Yesh Atid and Blue-White - New Hope [now the "National Unity Party"], only 3% support the addition of the ultra-orthodox parties to the coalition and acceptance of their demands! Even Likud voters are divided on the issue, and only 52% support the inclusion of the ultra-Orthodox parties.
• Conscription of yeshiva students to the IDF: Following the elections, the Supreme Court’s repeal of the current law for conscription of yeshiva students will come into effect, and the conflict over this issue will reemerge in the Knesset and the Supreme Court. The survey found that only 25% support granting yeshiva students an exemption from military service. 44% are of the opinion that a limited annual quota of exemptions should be set for outstanding yeshiva students and as for the rest, those who are suitable for service in the IDF should be recruited, and the rest be required to perform national civil service. 31% are of the opinion that all yeshiva students should be conscripted for regular full-length military service.
• Core curricular studies [parallel issue to the US controversy over the ultra-Orthodox refusal to incorporate “Substantive Equivalency” into their boys schools]: 77% of survey participants are of the opinion that the ultra-Orthodox schools for boys should be required to teach core subjects, including mathematics, English and science [63% are of the opinion that they should not receive funding from the state coffers if they refuse to teach these subjects, as public schools are required to do. Another 14% are of the opinion that their funding should only be cut by 50% if they refuse]. This is also the position of 73% of Likud voters and 61% of Religious Zionism voters.
• The degree to which religion and state issues influence voting: 50% of respondents stated that a party's positions in favor of religious freedom and equality, such as public transportation on Shabbat, civil marriage and divorce, conscription of yeshiva students, prevention of the exclusion of women, etc., would increase the likelihood that they would vote for that party. This is 31% higher than the percentage of respondents that stated that such a position would weaken the chance that they would vote for the party [19%]. 31% answered that the party's position on these issues would not affect their vote. 67% of the secular public answered that this would increase the chance that they would vote for such a party, compared to only 8% who answered that this would decrease the chance, and 14% who answered that this would have no effect on their vote. This data is of particular importance in view of the fact that most of the voters of Yesh Atid, the National Unity Party, Labor, Israel Beitenu and Meretz are secular and that these parties are competing for their votes. Furthermore, approximately half [46%] of those who are undecided about their vote are secular.
• What religion-state issues are important to voters? The most important issues that voters want the party they are considering voting for to advance are: 1. The overall principle of religious freedom and equality in bearing the civilian burden, 2. public transportation on Shabbat, and 3. recognition of civil marriage and divorce. Following them were: 4. Abolishing of the monopoly of the Chief Rabbinate over kashrut, 5. the cutting back of funding to yeshivas and religious institutions, 6. conscription of yeshiva students to the IDF or civil service, 7. enforcement of core curricular studies in ultra-orthodox education, 8. prohibiting the exclusion of women in the public sphere, and 9. enabling the limited opening of supermarkets and businesses on Shabbat. It should be noted, that while there is majority public support for the equality of all Jewish religious denominations and for the egalitarian and women’s Services at the Wall, these 2 issues rate lowest on the public’s priority list of current religion/state controversies.
• Trust in public institutions: The public has far more trust in the Supreme Court than in the Knesset [some of whose factions are threatening to take action following the elections to curtail the independence and authority of the Supreme Court]. The Supreme Court enjoys the highest level of trust and does so by a large margin in comparison with trust in the Knesset, the government, and the Chief Rabbinate. In comparison with 34% who answered that they have a high level of confidence in the Supreme Court, only 8% have high confidence in the Knesset, 10% - in the government, and 16% - in the Chief Rabbinate. Worryingly - 46% answered that they do not trust any of these institutions. Not surprisingly, only 1% of the ultra-orthodox public has confidence in the Supreme Court, compared with 51% of the secular public. On the other hand, 48% of the ultra-Orthodox public and 46% of the religious public have confidence in the Chief Rabbinate, compared with 1% of the secular public.

The survey for the Religion and State Index was conducted by telephone by the Smith Institute between August 9-11, 2022, based on an expanded sample of 800 people representing the Jewish adult population in Israel, aged 18 and over. Sampling error ± 3.5%

Additional Findings:

• The religious/secular conflict: the two internal tensions in Jewish society that the public identifies as the most acute are between the political right and the political left [79%] and between the ultra-Orthodox and the secular public [60%]. All other internal tensions lag far behind in terms of acuteness: Sephardim and Ashkenazim [20%]; Rich and poor [17%]; New immigrants and veteran Israelis [3%]
• Freedom of religion and conscience vs. separation of religion and state: for years, the index has consistently measured enormous support for freedom of religion and conscience in Israel [this year - 81%]. While a majority also support the separation of religion and state, the scope of this majority is significantly lower[59%].
• Freedom of marriage: 62% of the adult Jewish public support the State recognizing all types of marriage, including civil, Reform and Conservative. Among the secular public, the support rate is 87%. About half of Likud voters also support this [49%]. 51% stated that they would prefer an Orthodox marriage for themselves or their children even if all the alternatives were equally recognized, 31% would prefer a civil marriage, 9% - a reform or conservative marriage, and 9% - cohabitation without marriage. Among secular Israeli Jews, though, only 17% would have preferred to marry in an Orthodox ceremony, while 83% would have preferred one of the alternatives if they were equally recognized.
• State support for Jewish renewal - 57% expressed support for the allocation of government funding on an egalitarian and pluralistic basis to promote Judaism of all types, from Orthodox to secular, including Reform and Conservative. Twenty-nine percent are of the opinion that state funds should only be allocated to Orthodox educational programs. Fourteen percent are of the opinion that the use of state funds for Jewish identity programs should be reduced or eliminated completely.