Hiddush Polls on Religion, State and the Rabbinute
Hiddush poll for Valentine’s Day
71% of the Israeli Jewish public:
The Chief Rabbinate’s and rabbinical courts’
monopoly over marriage and divorce
distances Jews from Judaism.
84% of the Jewish public in Israel believes that every Israeli citizen should have “the right to found a family in Israel with whomever they want, in whatever manner they want, and according to their beliefs.”
Hiddush CEO Rabbi Regev: “All successive Israeli governments have denied the public the basic rights to freedom of marriage and family. It’s time for love and civil liberties to prevail, and for Israeli politicians to heed the public will!”
“Not only is the denial of the freedom to marry antithetical to core democratic principles,” said Regev, “but it also undermines Jewish interests!” 71% of the Israeli Jewish public, including 59% of the Orthodox Jewish Home party’s voters, maintain that the Chief Rabbinate’s and the rabbinical courts’ monopoly over marriage and divorce distances Jews from Judaism. Only 29% believe it brings Jews closer to their Jewish heritage.
In this Hiddush special Valentine’s Day poll, held shortly after the Western Wall agreement was signed, 61% of the Israeli Jewish public, nearly two-thirds, expressed support for official State recognition of Reform and Conservative marriages. Only 33% support the current Orthodox rabbinic monopoly over marriage of all Jews in Israel, while 67% want the State to recognize alternatives to the Orthodox monopoly.
Hiddush CEO Rabbi Uri Regev responded that “Israel prides itself for being an advanced Western democracy, but in regard to the basic human right to marry the person you love, it is closer to those states governed by Sharia law. It is the only Western democracy in the world that denies its citizens marriage freedom.” He added, “More than 600,000 citizens are unable to marry in Israel at all, and millions more can only get legally married or divorced in religious ceremonies that are contrary to their religious/secular outlooks and lifestyles. Rather than strengthening Judaism in the Jewish state, the Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly and the unholy alliance of religion and politics only serve to distance Jews from Judaism.”
Regev noted that “The survey once again highlights the tremendous divide between the public’s desire for marriage and divorce freedom, and the political system, which ignores the public’s will, empowering and perpetuating the Rabbinate’s monopoly over these matters. There’s no doubt,” he continued, “that the Rabbinate and the rabbinical courts are the greatest enemies of Judaism in our time. However, all successive Israeli governments are no less culpable for collaborating with the Rabbinate and the religious parties to deny the public its basic right to marriage and love.”
This public opinion survey was conducted by the Rafi Smith Polling Institute for Hiddush – Freedom of Religion in Israel ahead of Valentine’s Day (the international holiday of love on February 14th). It was conducted by telephone on February 4th, among 500 adult Israelis, a representative sample of the adult Jewish population. This survey was conducted with generous support from IREP – the Israel Religious Expression Platform.
Additional poll highlights:
91% of secular Israeli Jews and 81% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union feel that the Rabbinate’s and the rabbinical courts’ control over marriage and divorce in Israel alienates Jews from Judaism. On the other hand, 100% of ultra-Orthodox respondents said that the Rabbinate’s monopoly brings Jews closer to their Jewish heritage. Among those who believe the monopoly on marriage and divorce distances Jews from Judaism are: 100% of Kulanu, Yisrael Beiteinu and Meretz voters, 96% of Yesh Atid voters, and 87% of voters for the Zionist Camp. 54% of Likud voters and 59% of Jewish Home voters also agree that Jews are distanced from Judaism by the Chief Rabbinate’s control over these basic human rights.
84% of the Israeli Jewish public believes that every resident of Israel should have “the right to start a family in Israel with whomever they wish, in whatever way they prefer, and in whatever manner best suits their beliefs.” Only 16% oppose this. Among those who identify as left-leaning, 100% support the right to choose how one establishes a family. Among those who identify as centrists, 90% support this basic right, as do 70% of right-leaning voters. 93% of secular Israeli Jews support the right to establish a family with one’s partner of choice in a way that befits one’s beliefs, as do 75% of ultra-Orthodox Jews. The lowest level of support for this human right came from the Zionist Orthodox community – only 61%.
It’s is quite possible that respondents from the ultra-Orthodox and Zionist Orthodox communities interpreted “family” only in relation to Jews, and only in relation to heterosexual marriage. Should the language of the law be sharpened to allow for religious intermarriage and same-sex marriage, this might well lower the support among the Israeli Jewish population from 84% to something like 70%, which is the general level of support for marriage freedom in Israel.
67% of the Jewish public in Israel, two-thirds, support the State of Israel allowing young couples to choose alternative wedding ceremonies outside of the Rabbinate. 60% support recognition of civil, Reform and Conservative marriages, in addition to marriages conducted by the Chief Rabbinate.
1% support only recognizing marriages performed by the liberal religious streams (i.e., support for recognition of Reform and Conservative marriages stands at 61%). 6% support only recognizing civil marriages (i.e. a total of 66% support).
Only 33% of the Jewish public support perpetuating the existing legal framework for marriage and divorce, in which the State of Israel only recognizes marriages conducted under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate. Among secular Jews, 92% support the creation of marriage alternatives outside of the Rabbinate, as do 88% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, but 90% of ultra-Orthodox Jews oppose this proposal. 21% of those who identify as “religious” support State recognition of Reform, Conservative and civil marriages.
What is Hiddush?
Hiddush is an advocacy and public education organization that works to strengthen Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and to realize the promise of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, “for religious freedom and equality for all”. Hiddush is a non-denominational, non-partisan partnership between Israel and world Jewry.
2015 Religion & State Index – support for religious freedom rises
The good news, illuminated by the 2015 Israel Religion & State Index, is the continually increasing Israeli public support for freedom of religion and equality of burden. The bad news is the gaping divide between the public’s will on matters of religion and state and the Government’s coalition agreements.
Hiddush is pleased to present the findings of the 2015 Israel Religion and State Index. The good news, illuminated by the Index, is the continually increasing Israeli public support for freedom of religion and equality of burden. The bad news is the gaping divide between the public’s will on matters of religion and state and the Government’s coalition agreements. 79% of the Jewish public oppose the Coalition’s intention to increase the budgets for yeshivas and yeshiva student benefits. 82% of the Israeli public, contrary to these agreements, support the mandatory implementation of core curricular studies in all ultra-Orthodox schools.
Hiddush’s annual Israel Religion and State Index is the most systematic and comprehensive public opinion research poll on matters of religion and state in Israel. It has been conducted by the Rafi Smith Polling Institute for Hiddush ever since its inception in 2009. The Index has been used by the media, decision makers, community leaders and public opinion molders in Israel and the Diaspora, as well as civil society organizations. Nothing compares to the Index when it comes to monitoring and analyzing the public mood on matters of religious freedom and equality of burden.
The gap between the public’s views and the government’s policies is also illustrated by the polling results on questions related to freedom of marriage and divorce. 64% of Israelis favor recognizing all types of marriage, including civil, Reform and Conservative. This is not a purely theoretical figure, for 70% of secular Jews and 67% of immigrants indicated their preference for a non-Orthodox framework for marriage, were one available. Another significant finding: 64% of Israeli Jews, the highest figure ever, expressed their support for full recognition of marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples.
The challenge for those who desire change is reflected in the following statistic: Only 58% of secular Israeli Jews favor the view that the secular parties should make support for civil marriage and divorce a condition for entering the Coalition. 62% of the public is opposed. In order for the politicians to feel enough public pressure to legislate freedom of civil marriage, organizations such as Hiddush that advocate religious freedom must convince the traditional and moderate Orthodox public that the issue of marriage freedom is not merely theoretical but must become an important, central facet of Israel’s political agenda. This also highlights the importance of Diaspora Jewish partnership with Israelis in advocating for marriage freedom, as it impacts them as well, and their participation will greatly strengthen the forces for change.
The public’s disgust with the Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly, which perpetuates ultra-Orthodox religious coercion, is clearly illustrated by the following polling data: 73%, almost three-quarters of the Jewish public, support doing away with the Rabbinate’s monopoly over Kashrut certification, and 67% oppose making kashrut certification conditional upon Sabbath observance. Hiddush achieved a significant victory in this field by threatening legal action against the Chief Rabbinate for its illegal hotel kashrut regulations, which were revised as a result, to allow the use of musical instruments, video projection and photography during private events on Saturdays, as well as rescinding the demand that no non-Jewish symbols be displayed during the New Year’s/Christmas season. Unfortunately, we may be forced to launch another battle against the Rabbinate, for they seem to be resistant to upholding their own newly issued Kashrut regulations.
One encouraging finding is that support for freedom of religion has reached peak levels in the 2015 Index. 86% of the Jewish public supports freedom of religion and conscience in Israel. Also encouraging is the increase in support that has occurred among the ultra-Orthodox public, which has risen from only 40% support for freedom of religion and conscience in the previous Index to 56% support this year. However, this finding may indicate that some ultra-Orthodox respondents were only expressing support for freedom of religion for themselves, not for others, whether Jewish or not. 59% of the ultra-Orthodox public continues to support denying Christians the right to pray in the Room of the Last Supper, compared to only 11% among the general public. 24% of ultra-Orthodox Jews believe that we need not deal with the extremists who spit at Christian clergymen, responding that “this is not a crime and not a problem.”
Israel’s Declaration of Independence promised its citizens freedom of religion and equality. Unfortunately, freedom of religion and equality in shouldering the civic burden repeatedly fall victim to the political parties’ and politicians’ conviction that they will pay no political price should they ignore the public’s will. The Religion and State Index shows how new Government policies and the new state budget move us further away from these important values, and exposes the cynicism of Israel’s political system that disregards the public’s will. It is possible and critical to fight against this bad budget and prevent its passage. The clearer it becomes that the public objects to carrying out the sweeping concessions made in the coalition agreements, the greater the chance that MKs will be emboldened to thwart them.
The previous government created an important window of opportunity for civil revolution in Israel. Unfortunately, it only managed to make a few, limited changes, and the new coalition intends to reverse even these. A civil government can and should be reestablished, in the hopes that the opportunity will not be missed next time. 65% of the Jewish public expressed the preference for a government without the ultra-Orthodox parties! In order for this to happen, it is essential that the public speak up loud and clear, for only a strong and un-equivocal expression of the public rejection of a Haredi-based coalition government can bring our elected officials to listen and heed.
Upon reviewing the 2015 Index, Hiddush Chairman Stanley P. Gold reflected, “I have been committed to strengthening Israel economically for over a quarter century and have worked diligently to build a strong and lasting relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community.
“As the years have passed, I have become more and more concerned about the crippling unholy alliance between religion and state.
“The findings of the new Religion and State Index confirm my concerns and validate my conviction that one cannot exaggerate the necessity to finally break this union so that Israel can truly be the “home for all Jews” as Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly declared. I sincerely believe that, for Israel to remain strong, the advancement of religious freedom is no less important than the strengthening its economy and defense.”
