Polls commissioned by the Jerusalem Post in partnership with the American Jewish Committee (AJC) scheduled to be released on Friday, 13 Elul, show a majority of Jews in the United States and Israel favor official State of Israel recognition of non-religious Jewry, calling for an end to the “Orthodox monopoly over religion-and-state issues in Israel”. The poll shows that 74% of American Jews and 62% of Israeli Jews believe the time has come for official State of Israel recognition of the Reform and Conservative Movements.
While one may argue the poll is taken by the AJC and not all the Jews who voted are halachically Jews and so-forth, but the fact remains that significant numbers of Jews in the two largest Jewish populations around the world favor the move.
The poll also highlights the growing tensions between these movements and the State of Israel amid an awareness the Reform and Conservative Movements, their leaders and members, are major contributors to the State of Israel and thereby carry significant weight with the state’s decision-makers. This has been evident in Israel during recent months in the ongoing controversy surrounding an egalitarian prayer area near the Kosel. YWN-ISRAEL reported– earlier this week that the government coalition came under fire in a session of the Supreme Court addressing a petition on the egalitarian area and government foot-dragging. The court made it clear that it was not going to tolerate this and that an area must be set into place to permit mixed and non-Orthodox services for those wishing to take advantage of it.
The Post survey adds that 70% of US Jewry and 61% of Israeli Jewry support an egalitarian prayer area at the Kosel Plaza.
48% of American Jews believe that the recognition of frum Jewry as the official Jewry is responsible for weakened relations with the Diaspora Jewish community and 39% do not see this as being so.
Most Israeli Jews, 54%, remain opposed to exclusive Orthodox control of state religious services as has been the case since the establishment of the state.
The poll was conducted by SSRS Research Company and 1,002 Jews over the age of 18 responded in the United States. The margin of error is +/- 3.5%.
The poll in Israel was conducted by the Rafi Smith Institute, questioning 500 adults over 18, with the margin of error reported to be +/- 4.5%.
The J. Post is planning to release the in-depth results of the polls in its Friday magazine.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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14 Responses
Exodus 23.2 “Do not follow a multitude to do evil”
I’ll bet the poll was done online. How about a poll by ywn? Maybe the results would be different, what do you think?
The AJC which conducted this poll is a non frum, sometimes anti frum somewhat Jewish organization.
Their goal is to spread a deviant form of religious practice which they refer to as Judaism akin to Reform which practices something other than Judaism but tells their adherents that it is Judaism.
Most American Jews (“persons of Jewish descent who identify as Jew”) are secular (including Reform, Conservative, Assimilated, etc.).
Being that the vast majority of American Jews are not Orthodox, it comes as no surprise that a majority of US Jews believe Israel should recognize the Reform and Conservative movements. However I am skeptical that so many Israelis supposedly feel the same. Most Israeli Jews, whether personally religious or not, recognize no Judaism other than frumkeit. Maybe the question was worded in a different form?
Why was christians opinion seeked , as they are the fist reform jews.
since when is jewish law decided by opinions?
correction to my earlier post. Why wasnt Christians opinon seeked as they were the first reformed Jews.
And since when is Jewish law decided by personel opinions?
How about asking the Orthodox Jews?
These polls cannot at all be considered statistically accurate or even realistic given the small number of people who were polled. Probably taken from AJC’s member list. Yet, this article is getting a lot of press both in the USA and Israel.
Truly pathetic that a group with a 75%+ intermarriage rate, and many questions about how many of these people are even Jewish should have so much influence.
The reform and conservative whiped out judaism in the US now they are trying to do the same in israel
If you believe that that the Torah is the written law given by the Almighty (HaShem) to Moshe at Mt. Sinai, then what human can alter, pick-and-choose or decide what he/she may or may not obey ?? The law given at Mt. Sinai to Moshe and to the Jewish people is not alterable, “outmoded”, it is immutable.
A “Rabbi” in the 1850s, did decide to radically change the Holy Torah. some 83 years later, HaShem punished the Jewish people unmercifully for their sin.
I suggest ALL Jews do More Talmud Torah (MTT), More Davvening (MD) and More Chessed (MC). Such mitzvahs can only be a blessing to them. to Yisreal and the world (Olam).
A goy,
Gerry Mullen
#3. Non frum is understatement. The term applies to believers but….They are pure heretics. some or.. married to gentiles…
#10 they onlt wiped out thier members…but the believers are going strong “ki lo sishukach mipi zaroo’
Another self-serving poll that came out exactly like the people who paid for it ,wanted it to come out.I don’t believe it for a minute that Israeli Jews want recognition of”movements” that have spiritually devastated American Jewry and have disconnected themselves from Torah and H’.