Featured Story

Half of the Israeli Jewish Public Prefer to Marry in a non-Orthodox Marriage Ceremony

Half of the Israeli Jewish Public Prefer to Marry in a non-Orthodox Marriage Ceremony

A survey by the Smith Institute for Hiddush ahead of the 15th of Av: two-thirds of the Jewish public in Israel support legislation that would abolish the Orthodox monopoly on marriage and allow freedom of marriage in Israel. This includes 68% of Likud voters and 41% of the voters of Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties. If they had a choice - only 15% of the secular public would marry in an Orthodox marriage


More Stories

Hiddush demands: IDF, bring back family visitations on Saturdays!

Hiddush demands: IDF, bring back family visitations on Saturdays!

Following dozens of information requests regarding the forbiddance of family visitations to IDF bases on Saturdays, two NGOs turned to the IDF. Hiddush – For Religious Freedom and Equality and the Secular Forum demanded that the IDF permit family visitations on Saturday, and the IDF responded: “We shall form a team to formulate a picture of the situation and provide recommendations.”

2019 Israel Religion & State Index and post-election survey

2019 Israel Religion & State Index and post-election survey

84% Adult Israeli Jews support religious freedom and equality of civic burden; 74% oppose government’s activities in religion-state; 63% want a civil coalition, which does not depend on the ultra-Orthodox parties and advances religious freedom and equality; 64% support equal status for the non-Orthodox Jewish streams and Diaspora Jewish engagement in advancing religious freedom and equality in Israel; wide support (62%-84%) for the principles of the Vision Statement on Israel as Jewish and democratic state.

64% Israeli Jews want broad civil coalition, without Haredi parties

64% Israeli Jews want broad civil coalition, without Haredi parties

53% say they are more likely to vote for a party that commits to promote religious freedom and equality of civic burden. 66% say that it is important for them that the party they will vote for advance these values.

68% of the Israeli public supports freedom of choice in marriage

68% of the Israeli public supports freedom of choice in marriage

A large majority of voters for Israel’s civil parties, including the Likud, want freedom of marriage, and given the central role that religion/state issues are playing in the current election campaign - We may be closer than ever before to forming a coalition that will finally grant Israelis this fundamental right.

Hiddush in the legal trenches

Hiddush in the legal trenches

Hiddush legal advocacy ranges from cases dealing with the abuse of religious IDF draft exemptions for young women to elderly hot dog vendors who legally operate their carts in Jerusalem on Friday night.

Hiddush's next battle over pluralistic burial in Israel

Hiddush's next battle over pluralistic burial in Israel

Hiddush submitted a new petition aimed at further expanding religious freedom in Israel in general and pluralistic burial alternatives in particular.

60% of Israel’s adult Jewish public wants national unity government

60% of Israel’s adult Jewish public wants national unity government

60% of Israel’s adult Jewish public supports Avigdor Lieberman's intention to establish a broad national unity government without the ultra-Orthodox parties, including 94% of blue and white voters. 53% of Israel's adult Jewish public may decide who to vote for on the basis of the party’s commitment to promote religious freedom and equality of the burden.

74% Israeli public prefers civil government coalition

74% Israeli public prefers civil government coalition

74% of the Israeli public prefers a civil government based on a partnership between Likud and the Blue-&-White party, independent of the ultra-Orthodox parties’ dictates. 68% of the Israeli public wants the party it votes for to fight for the advancement of religious freedom and equality of the civic burden.

78% support marriage or registration for same-sex couples

78% support marriage or registration for same-sex couples

More than half of the Zionist Orthodox public (54%) supports the establishment of recognized same-sex partnerships. 73% of the general public believes that if marriage or registration for same-sex couples were to be recognized in Israel, these couples must have all or most of the rights of all other couples.

Most Israelis prefer a unity gov't with Likud and Blue & White

Most Israelis prefer a unity gov't with Likud and Blue & White

66% of the public prefers a Likud-Blue-&-White coalition to promote freedom of religion and equality, rather than a narrow government dependent on the ultra-Orthodox.

65% Israelis want a civil government

65% Israelis want a civil government

65% of the adult Jewish public wants a civil government, which is not dependent on the ultra-Orthodox parties, and which could promote freedom of religion and equality of the civic burden.

63% want a civil Coalition without Haredi parties

63% want a civil Coalition without Haredi parties

After the drama and the clarification of the political map, the public expects to hear more than rhetoric from the right and the left. The Jewish public wants the parties to promote freedom of religion and equality of the burden - not just crumbs such as providing public transportation on the Sabbath.

52% more likely to vote for a party that commits to religious freedom

52% more likely to vote for a party that commits to religious freedom

64% of undecided voters said that they are more likely to vote for a party that will commit itself to promoting freedom of religion and equality of civic burden. So too, 52% of the adult Jewish public.

International Human Rights Day survey: Israelis support marriage freedom

International Human Rights Day survey: Israelis support marriage freedom

On December 10th the world is marking International Human Rights day. Hiddush looked into one of the main violations of human rights in Israel, which ironically mostly harms Jews: The right to marry!

Israel's (and New York’s) Yeshiva Students Deserve Better

Israel's (and New York’s) Yeshiva Students Deserve Better

One of the key areas that the 2018 Israel Religion & State Index points to is the strong resentment and objection among the Israeli Jewish population in the face of the refusal of the leadership of the ultra-Orthodox community to allow a proper and effective instruction of core curricular studies in their boys’ schools.

Take Action!