Increasing religious coercion will impact the next Knesset elections
72% of the Israeli public supports permitting work on Shabbat
72% of the public opposes the dictates of the ultra-Orthodox parties and supports permitting work on Shabbat
25/12/2017 13:56
Tags: Shabbat
95% of secular Jewish Israelis and a majority of voters for the non-Haredi coalition parties are in favor. It is encouraging to see how large a majority of the public opposes the demands of ultra-Orthodox parties and the policy of non-religious politicians to cede to their demands.
72% of the adult Jewish public in Israel opposes the position of the ultra-Orthodox political parties and supports permitting a variety of activities on Shabbat, while creating a balance between the principle of religious observance of a weekly day of rest and the protection of the rights of those who observe Shabbat, and that of freedom of religion. This position is shared by 95% of secular Jewish Israelis and most of the voters for the non-ultra-Orthodox Government Coalition parties, Including 71% of Likud voters. This emerges from a survey conducted by the Smith Institute for Hiddush by telephone on December 13-17, 2017 among a sample of 500 people representing the adult Jewish population of Israel.
The survey was conducted ahead of the vote to be raised on Monday and Tuesday in the second and third readings of the amendment to the Hours of Work and Rest Law and other bills aimed at restricting work on Shabbat, such as the Convenience Store Law, which aimed to give the Interior Minister authority over local municipal bylaws. The Hours of Work and Rest Law seeks to add "the tradition of Israel" as a consideration of the Minister of Labor, when considering whether to approve work permits on Shabbat, and it aims enable his refusal to approve work on Shabbat on the basis of religious views that prohibits this.
The struggle over the laws of religious coercion on Shabbat is yet another example of a challenge to Israeli democracy, which has failed time after time in defending the majority from the dictates of the minority. Neither the principle of religious freedom, nor the will of the Israeli public guide the Government, but rather the ultra-Orthodox parties' extortion. The Government Coalition abandons individual freedoms and human dignity in all matters of religion and state. It is encouraging to see how large a majority of the public opposes the demands of ultra-Orthodox parties and the policy of Israel's non-religious politicians to cede all matters of religious policy to these parties. Hiddush has no doubt that that the public will take the expansion of religious coercion into account in the next Knesset elections.
Neither the principle of religious freedom, nor the will of the Israeli public guide the Government, but rather the ultra-Orthodox parties' extortion.
The wording of the survey question was as follows: "There is an intense struggle in the political and public arena over Shabbat. The ultra-Orthodox political parties are initiating initiatives to prevent commercial activity, maintenance, and transportation on Shabbat, and they demand the authority to stop even the limited activity that exists today (such as the Convenience Store Law that passed this week in the Knesset on its first reading). What is your position on this struggle?"
As mentioned, 72% support the position that Israel should permit diverse activities on Shabbat while creating a balance between the principle of a weekly rest day and the protection of the rights of those who observe Shabbat, and that of religious freedom. 28% support the position of the ultra-Orthodox parties that "In Israel, as a Jewish state, business activity, transportation, or maintenance that involves the desecration of Shabbat should not be permitted, unless it is necessary to save a life."
Among those who support permitting diverse activities on Shabbat are the majority of voters for the Government Coalition parties: 71% of Likud voters, 77% of Kulanu voters, 96% of Yisrael Beiteinu voters and 47% of the Jewish Home voters. 100% of United Torah Judaism voters and 97% of Shas voters oppose this. Support among Opposition party voters: 98% of the voters for the Zionist Union, 94% of the voters for Yesh Atid, and 100% of Meretz voters.
As expected, 95% of the secular Israeli Jewish public supports the possibility of a variety of activities on Shabbat while maintaining balance, as do 92% of immigrants from the former USSR. Further, as previous Hiddush surveys have shown, even among the traditional Jewish public, the majority supports this and opposes the position of the ultra-Orthodox parties (including 69% of the traditional public that is close to religion and 86% of the traditional public that is not so close to religion).
Last month, when the crisis surrounding railway maintenance in Israel was at its peak, Hiddush published additional survey data that matched the present data. According to the previous survey 71% of the Jewish public in Israel supports the position that a limited amount of Sabbath maintenance should be allowed for safety purposes and to prevent serious damage to the train service on weekdays. This position was shared by 90% of secular Jewish Israelis and most of the voters for the non-ultra-Orthodox Government Coalition, including 65% of Likud voters and 64% of Jewish Home voters.