Israelis support gay marriage

Hiddush’s Religion and State Index, conducted by the Smith Research Institute: 53% of Israel’s Jewish citizens, including 74% of secular Jews, are in favor of letting same-sex partners get married

22/09/2009 13:04

Tags: gay marriage ·  Israel

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53% of the Jewish public in Israel favors allowing same-sex couples to wed, a recent survey found. The survey also found that 74% of secular Jews support gay marriage. By contrast, only 47% of new immigrants support same-sex marriage. The website GoGay reports, citing the survey, that more women (58%) consent to the introduction of gay marriage in Israel than men (48%). The poll was conducted by the Smith Research Institute for the NGO Hiddush – Religious Freedom for Israel. The sample encompassed 1,200 Jews over the age of 18. The margin of error is 2.9%. According to the survey, 80% of Kadima voters support marriage or civil union for same-sex couples, compared to only 42% of Likud voters. 69% of Yisrael Beiteinu constituents are opposed – a higher rate than was found among voters of Habayit Hayehudi. Support for civil marriage and/or Reform and Conservative marriage in general is higher – 64% of those polled. In addition, 92% of the secular public and 95% of new immigrants think that the Orthodox monopoly on marriage should

We want to be like the most enlightened of democracies

be ended. Those in favor of non-Orthodox marriage include 88% of Kadima voters, 88% of Yisrael Beiteinu voters, 83% of Labor voters, and all Meretz voters. The survey also found that 83% of the Jewish public thinks there should be freedom of religion and conscience in Israel, including 94% of secular Jews and two thirds of the National Religious public. By contrast, 53% of haredim are against this. “The findings demonstrate that a majority of the Israeli public thinks that it is time to deal from the root with the issues of freedom of religion and equality in shouldering the national burden,” the head of Hiddush, Rabbi Uri Regev, said. “The survey proves that there is no legitimacy to the policy of trading away the public’s rights in the area of religion and state. The time has come for the Jewish people in Zion and the Diaspora to say to the decision makers: No more! We want to be like the most enlightened of democracies and not like the most rotten of radical Islamist countries.”