A poll conducted ahead of Israel’s 68th Independence Day, commissioned by the Mako News Magazine website and conducted by Panels Politics headed by Dr. Ariel Ayalon shows most Jews believe in the Creator. The study polled 500 Jews ages 18 to 64.
Among the general Jewish population:
70.6% do not eat pork
65% believe in the Creator
55.5% have attended a ceremony to separate challah
53.1% were married via the Chief Rabbinate of Israel
51.4% observe modesty laws
49.5% fast on Yom Kippur
45.2% make kiddush
43.2% light Shabbos candles
37.7% don’t travel on Shabbos
37.7% observe taharas hamishpacha
36.5% go to shul on Yomim Tovim
29.6% observe kashrus
Among the non-religious Jewish population:
73.2% believe in some higher power
36.2% fast on Yom Kippur
30% of the females light Shabbos candles and their husbands make kiddush
Among the non-religious Jewish population regarding tznius:
37.2% maintain an awareness regarding tznius
35% make certain to wear a blouse with a sleeve
10% prefer a skirt
9% observe taharas hamishpacha. That number increases to 45.9% among those who view themselves as “traditional”.
Among the non-religious Jewish population regarding kashrus:
47.9% will not eat pork or enter a treif restaurant
12% will not eat seafood and separate between meat and milk
35% have taken part in a hafroshos challah event (as they grow in popularity)
Do you believe in HKBH?
80% among 18 to 24 year olds
57.5% of 55 to 64 year olds
25.9% of the young view themselves as “religious”
11.5% of the adults view themselves as “religious”
The results show that from age 35 and over there is a secular majority but below 35 they do not classify themselves this way.
48.8% of 24-34-year-old are secular
37.6% of 18-24-year-olds are secular
50.6% of the young keep Shabbos as compared to 16.1% of the adults. 47.1% of the young keep kosher as opposed to 21.8% of the adults and 22.4% of the young daven in shul on Shabbos as opposed to 14.9% of the adults.
Among those who view themselves as traditional:
90.6% believe in HKBH
74.4% fast on Yom Kippur
76% make kiddush
68% light Shabbos candles
66% keep kosher inside and outside of the home
48.3% observe laws of modesty (34.5% insist on sleeves and 20.7% wear skirts).
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
A few comments-
First of all it is heartening to see that so many Jews in Israel, even if they aren’t religious, have a connection to Yiddishkeit.
However, some of these numbers don’t make sense.If 73% of the non-religious believe in G-d, how is the number for the Jewish population in general only 65%? That would mean that factoring in the religious brings the figure down. Huh??
It’s kind of tragicomic that more Jews don’t eat pork than believe in G-d. If you don’t believe in Hashem, what’s the point of keeping any mitzvos?
Also, I assume that when respondents said they maintain an awareness of tzniut, they meant just that they try to be somewhat modest, not that they dress b’tznius according to Halachah. How many women can you find who would admit that they knowingly dress provocatively?