Though many think that the Israeli government's involvement in religious life is limited to the synagogue, the religion and state conflict has a far-reaching influence on the fabric of daily life for all Israelis. This is clearly seen in the battle waged in recent years over the elimination of women from advertisements and pictures, as well as physically excluding them from public areas.
This tension additionally is played out over the debate of public transportation and availability of shopping and services on Shabbat. A wide variety of Israelis support criminalization of excluding women from public areas. Additionally, two-thirds of Israeli Jews support allowing shopping centers to remain open on Shabbat. There is also high support for public transportation on Shabbat. These statistics reinforce the rising amount of general public support for freedom of religion in Israel.
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