“The stance of the Jewish public in Israel is clear: a large majority rejects the policies of Israeli governments that have succumbed to the blackmail of the ultra-Orthodox parties since the founding of the state, and imposed the authority of the Orthodox Rabbinate on the entire Jewish public”
Half of Israeli Jews would prefer to marry in non-Orthodox wedding ceremonies
Two-thirds of public backs lifting Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly on Jewish weddings to include Reform, Conservative, civil ceremonies; only ultra-Orthodox, far-right voters oppose
A poll released on Sunday ahead of Tu B’Av, the “Jewish holiday of love,” found that half of Israeli Jews would choose not to marry in an Orthodox ceremony if they could, with 22 percent opting for civil marriage and 13% preferring a Conservative or Reform marriage.
The Smith Research Institute for Hiddush, an organization that promotes freedom of religion, found that the vast majority of those who said they would choose an Orthodox ceremony identified as ultra-Orthodox or Modern Orthodox. Among secular respondents, only 15% said they would choose an Orthodox ceremony.
The poll found that women were less likely (44%) to choose an Orthodox ceremony than men (55%) and expressed more support for other marriage options including through an online marriage service provided by Utah County, in Utah.
Among the requirements to legally marry in Israel, women must attend at least one “kallah (bride) class” where they are taught about Jewish law surrounding menstrual cycles and they must immerse themselves in a mikveh (ritual pool) before the wedding. There are no such requirements for men.
Regardless of which ceremony they would personally choose, 67% of Israeli Jews responded that they would support the legalization of more types of marriage, including civil, Conservative, and Reform Jewish weddings.
Ninety-two percent of the secular public and 31% of the religious public supported broadening the types of marriage allowed in the country.
The survey noted that these figures include 68% of people who vote for the ruling Likud party and 41% of far-right Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit party voters. Only 9% of ultra-Orthodox party voters voiced support for other types of marriage.
Religious parties have long fought efforts to institute civil marriage in Israel, citing their religious objections to the state sanctioning interfaith marriages and other unions prohibited by Jewish law.
Israeli law only allows for marriage through established religious institutions like the Orthodox rabbinate for Jews and sharia courts for Muslims, meaning that hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens cannot get married in Israel due to various religious barriers.
Although couples have been able to get married in civil ceremonies abroad and have their marriages registered by the Population Authority for nearly six decades, this process involves considerable expense and inconvenience.
Since December 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, several Israeli couples have been married through the online marriage service in Utah.
Israel also offers a common-law marriage option for couples who cannot legally marry in Israel such as same-sex and interfaith couples or people who don’t legally qualify as Jewish by Rabbinate standards. While common-law marriage is not fully cemented into Israeli law, couples who choose this option have almost all the rights that legally married couples do with a few exceptions.
“The stance of the Jewish public in Israel is clear: a large majority rejects the policies of Israeli governments that have succumbed to the blackmail of the ultra-Orthodox parties since the founding of the state, and imposed the authority of the Orthodox Rabbinate on the entire Jewish public,” said Hiddush CEO Rabbi Uri Regev about the poll.
“The irony is that the Rabbinate has managed to alienate tens of thousands of couples from the institution of marriage, leading them to prefer cohabitation without formal marriage. Thus, the Rabbinate has become the greatest threat to the institution of marriage in Israel.”