It is alarming to read the results of a new Smith Research Institute poll commissioned by the Hiddush organization. If the poll is accurate, it shows a major shift away from a Halachic definition of being a Jew among the majority of Israelis. The poll also clearly shows the hashkafa of the majority of Yesh Atid voters and the agenda party leader Yair Lapid will push if he enters the coalition and serves as a senior cabinet minister.
The Smith Research Institute and Hiddush – Freedom of Religion for Israel conducted a poll which found that 57% of the Jewish population in Israel (80% of secular Jews) do not object to a family member marrying a partner who comes from an immigrant family and whose father is Jewish, but mother is not. The polling data was released in anticipation of the Knesset lobby for Civil Equality and Pluralism, headed by MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) which is took place in the Knesset on Monday, March 4, 2013. The gathering will focus on freedom of marriage in Israel.
The inquiry focused on attitudes of Israeli Jews regarding marriage to a spouse who is not Jewish according to Orthodox Jewish law. Among the new immigrants themselves, 77% expressed no objection to this situation while 23% did object. The Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox populations, however, consistently oppose a potential marriage between a family member and a patrilineal Jew; 93% among the orthodox, 94% among ultra-Orthodox.
The annual “Israel Religion and State Index” conducted by the Smith institute for Hiddush, consistently demonstrates that approximately 60% of Jewish Israelis support government recognition of all options of marriage (including civil marriage and marriages officiated by Reform and Conservative Rabbis). In the 2012 Index, 59% of the Jewish population expressed support for freedom of marriage. Of the new immigrants that were polled, 90% support recognition of all forms of marriage and among secular Jews, 86% are in support. Among those who were planning to vote for Yesh Atid, support was at 85%.
Rabbi Uri Regev, President of Hiddush, said that, “these findings unequivocally demonstrate that the general public is eager to see civil marriage introduced in Israel as well as recognition of marriage in the non-orthodox denominations. This reflects both the wide public support of freedom of religion and also a desire to ensure the absorption of new immigrant families, which includes the ability to legally marry in Israel. The overwhelming majority of the public clearly rejects the current reality in which hundreds of thousands of new immigrants are denied the basic human right of creating a legally-protected family.”
Rabbi Regev emphasized that, “the elections created a historic opportunity to establish civil marriage in Israel as was repeatedly promised by Yesh Atid chair, Yair Lapid. We should not allow this opportunity slip away.” Regev called on the “Jewish Home” party to recognize that “the Fundamentalist Orthodox monopoly over marriage and divorce is one of the most divisive issues among Jews in Israel and around the world. Not only will introducing freedom of marriage not split the public, it will draw Israelis closer to Judaism and help alleviate many of the current societal frictions.”
*The poll was conducted in mid- January 2013 among a sample of 500 respondents representing the adult Jewish population in Israel. The question posed to the respondents was “Would you object on principle to a male or female family member marrying a new immigrant spouse whose father is Jewish and mother is not?”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
11 Responses
The Reform movement failed in America so now they’re setting their sights on Israel. All I can say is that every one of these secular, anti-halacha Reform nitwits should be zoche to see their children and grandchildren oskim b’Torah u’mitizvos b’karov.
first of all, it was done by ‘Hiddush’…
Second, of course they don’t ask any religous israeli, why would they do that…
This is sad, to my ears.
We need to implement an approach that is halakhic, yet also appreciative of and mindful of the fact that those without a Jewish mother but nonetheless raised as if they were Jews see themselves as nothing less than being Jewish and Israeli. We need a more inclusive approach to giyur that utilizes the zera yisrael shitos of R’ Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer, Rav Uziel, and all those who see the restoration of zera kodesh as part of the homecoming of the Jewish People in the times in which we are living.
93% among the orthodox, 94% among ultra-Orthodox.
does not appear reliable date, no way chareidim 6% would allow “mixed” marriage.
Self understood some people call themself jewish but have no idea what a jew really means, they don’t understand the differents between nationality as an american french english and a jew, so every government votes for people who can change the laws so why not have the reform the seculars change the jewish laws.
So its about time they insist of no discrimination and call everyone Israeli and all seculars shall not say their jewish.
great, arn’t all the arabs jewish on their fathers side… at least after their marriage their kids would “actually” be half jewish.
If we were to go by polls to determine what should be defined as kosher, we will be able to eat pork!
The Israeli government has not defined Jewishness (under the Law of Return) according halacha for at least 40 years. For all purposes the Israelis have been using Hitler’s definition (a Jewish grandparent, subject to exceptions as needed). The debate of marriage is irrelevant unless you have meaningful criminal sanctions for extramarital you-know-what, which Israel hasn’t had (at least since the zionists took over). If the hiloni marriages are valid, and may rabbanim say they aren’t since they never intended to be married according to “Daas Moshe v’Yisrael”, a large percentage of secular Israelis are mamzerim (unless of course they are goyim).
The frum community should start getting used to the idea that they are a minority. The battle of the character of the state was fought, and lost, in the early 20th century when irreligious Jews came in and took over the yishuv (and to a certain extent, did so at gunpoint). We should be focusing on rights as a minority.
Unfortunately, with the looming assault on the yeshiva system (vis a vis the conscription policy, funding, and income supplements to bnei Torah), and now this threat, we might just simply have to divorce ourselves utterly from the State. How so? Tough to say… Stop paying all income and property taxes, refusal to cooperate with any and all governmental authorities, mass exodus to the US. It will be interesting to see what the gadolei Yisrael instruct us to do. But a full scale assault on Yiddishkeit like this will likely not be ignored. We have seen in the past how massive action against commercial enterprises that attacked our values and sought to obfuscate Halacha were successful in causing the power that be to rescind their actions (Bank Leumi, El Al, Pepsi). So burning draft notices is one response, pulling out of the banks is another, all frum government employees striking is a third tactic. It has been slowly getting to that point of cultural civil war (and of course I mean only non-violent acts of civil,disobedience). As our numbers and position is growing, and the total,disconnect of the average secular Israeli from any semblance of Judaism intensifies, it appears that a major clash is brewing. Maybe I’m out of line here, but in dealing with mamish secular Israelis, I sort of feel like I’m dealing with a totally assimilated, non-affiliated American Jew who doesn’t really consider himself a member of Klal Yisrael anymore. “Oh my mom was Jewish, but I have no religion,” and no interest in even talking about it. Sadly I suspect that we are all do for a very serious wake up call.
#4 So you think 7% Orthodox would allow mix marriages?
The headline is incorrect: it states “MOST JEWS” but should be “most new immigrants”.
The poll only interviewed new immigrants, that means Russians, Anglos, French, Falash Mura Ethiopian, and possibly some South Americans.
(Falash Mura had previously converted in the 19th and 20th century to Xstianity under pressure and status is questionable unlike the Beta Ethiopian who are Jewish. )
There is no way that 7% orthodox and 6% ultra-Orthodox would think that a mix marriage with only the father being Jewish is permissible.
The poll would have a significantly less favorable numbers for the reform movement if they actually polled all Israelis, but then again they could just alter the numbers.