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Israeli Jews' Views on Their Relationship to American Jews And

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Israeli Jews' Views on Their Relationship to American Jews And Together and Apart: Israeli Jews’ Views on their Relationship to American Jews and Religious Pluralism Findings from UJA-Federation’s Survey of Israeli Jews 2017 January 29, 2018 Principal Researchers: Prof. Steven M. Cohen, HUC-JIR Mijal Bitton, Ph.D. candidate, NYU Prof. Lisa Grant, HUC-JIR Dr. Ezra Kopelowitz, Research Success Technologies, Israel Dr. Jack Ukeles, Ukeles Associates, Inc., Jerusalem, Israel A healthy relationship between American and Israeli Jewry — the world’s two largest Jewish communities — is crucial to the well-being of the Jewish people. Anyone who has lived or traveled extensively in both countries is aware of profound cultural, political, religious, social, and economic differences between these two Jewries. To cite just a few obvious examples, Jews in Israel are a majority in a sovereign Jewish state; American Jews are a minority in a state that is not Jewish. In the U.S., separation of church and state is a cherished value; in Israel, religion plays a major role in public life. Most young Jews in Israel serve in the army; most American Jews do not. Many American Jews are engaged with non-Jewish family and friends; Israeli Jews are surrounded by non-Jews, many of whom they perceive as unfriendly, if not hostile. With huge stakes in the relationship between Israel and American Jewry and huge differences between the two, understanding the other is urgent. The leadership of each community operates with a series of often unfounded assumptions about what “they” think, believe, and value. 1 This report aims to help American Jewish leadership better understand the perspectives of Israeli Jews that are important to both Jewries. We present findings from a survey of 2,050 Israeli Jews representing the full spectrum of religious and political identities, focusing on three areas: 1. Israeli Jews’ valuation of the overall relationship with American Jews (or Jews outside of Israel more generally) — To what extent do Israelis see the relationship with American Jews as valued and valuable, and do they welcome the input of American Jewish leaders in policy areas vital to American Jews? Are they interested in the two communities learning about one another, and are they open to American Jews’ views? 2. How do Israeli Jews relate to matters of religious pluralism in Israel? To what extent are Israelis supportive of religious activity on the part of American Conservative and Reform rabbis and communities, or their counterparts in Israel? Where do they stand on the recent Kotel controversy and conversion? 3. The ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. Augmenting the considerable research in this area, here we ask a few questions on relevant matters that pertain directly to the thinking of many, if not most, American Jews. The Survey To address these and related questions, we conducted a survey of 2,050 Jewish citizens of Israel, ages 18 and above. Israeli Jews represent just under four-fifths of the Israeli public. Owing to the focus on Jewish peoplehood and related issues, the survey sample did not extend to Israeli Arabs/Palestinians. The survey was fielded online, in Hebrew, in November 2017 by Panels Politics Polling Institute (Dr. Menachem Lazar, principal). 2 The Panels Politics Internet Panel consists of 40,000 Israelis who agree to participate in surveys of all kinds, in return for a credit that can be converted into monetary reward after a period of roughly six months. We sent invitations to 9,787 Jewish panelists that were randomly chosen by our sampling generator system (eNquera) as matching the required sample outlines according to gender, age, and religious level. In total, 20.9% percent of them responded, yielding 2,050 eligible respondents. For an Israeli survey, the sample of 2,050 respondents is unusually large, allowing for in-depth analysis of several population sub-groups. The data set consisted of 77 survey questions plus 14 previously administered socio-demographic questions. Due to the total size of our Panel and the efficiency of the eNquera system, no weighting was done after completing the final quota. That said, although the internet usage is spreading among the Haredim, it is reasonable to presume that among the most sectarian Haredim we will have some degree of under-representation, although getting smaller from year to year, as internet use grows in the Haredi sector. The tables below portray the distribution of the survey respondents’ key socio- demographic characteristics: age, education, area of residence, and religious identity. Age Percent 60+ 16% 45-59 24% 30-44 31% 18-29 29% Total 100% Educational Attainment Percent Elementary school 1% High school not graduated 4% High school graduated 23% High non academic 25% BA 32% MA and above 15% Total 100% 3 Area of Residence Percent North 9% Haifa 13% Center 27% Tel Aviv 24% Jerusalem 10% West bank 6% South 11% Total 100% Religious Identification* Percent Haredi 14% Dati 11% Masorti-dati 10% Masorti, not so dati 22% Hiloni 39% Just Jewish, other 4% Total 100% *Note at points in this paper we refer to Orthodox Jews, and the term — taken from American rather than Israeli discourse — includes the Haredi (fervently Orthodox) and Dati (Modern Orthodox). Masorti (Traditional) refers to Jews who maintain some aspects of the religious tradition, but do not aspire to live by the strict standards of Jewish law. HIloni (Secular)Jews, do not aspire to live by the Jewish tradition, although many observe some aspects of religious ritual, like attending a Passover seder or having a bar mitzvah. To be clear, we did not assign these labels, commonly used by Israeli Jews and frequently appearing on Israeli surveys; rather, they emerge from respondents’ own self-classification. 4 The Findings Near Consensus on Belonging to the Jewish People & on Israel as the State of the Jewish People About 9 in 10 Israeli Jews affirm that they “have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people” and that “Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people.” And 63% strongly agree with the former while 74% strongly agree with the latter. Responses to the two questions are empirically linked. Those who strongly agree that Israel is the Jewish people’s nation-state are more likely to have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people than do those who merely “agree” or fail to agree. The two highly related attitudes testify to the widespread sense of collective Jewish identity among Israeli Jews. It is one expressed by way of a strong association between connection to the Jewish people and seeing the Jewish people connected to the Israeli nation-state, as well as widespread endorsement of both views independently. I have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people. Percent Strongly agree 63% Agree 26% Don’t Know 1% Disagree 8% Strongly disagree 3% Total 100% Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people. Percent Strongly agree 74% Agree 19% DK 1% Disagree 5% Strongly disagree 2% Total 100% 5 Wide Support for a Strong Relationship Between Israeli & U.S. Jews About three-quarters of Israeli Jews value American Jewry, in part because of American Jews’ contribution to Israel’s security. While a small number of Israeli Jews dissent from this view, the vast majority certainly concurs with the notion that a secure Israel needs a strong and supportive American Jewry. A strong and thriving American Jewry is important for the Percent future of Israel. Strongly agree 32% Agree 42% DK 3% Disagree 18% Strongly disagree 5% Total 100% American Jewish support of Israel is essential for the security Percent of the State of Israel. Strongly agree 41% Agree 40% DK 3% Disagree 13% Strongly disagree 4% Total 100% Most Israeli Jews Affirm Mutual Responsibility & Destiny With U.S. Jews To a somewhat lesser extent, Israeli Jews see the two communities – Israeli and American Jewries – as mutually bound, with a common destiny. We see that 30% feel that Jews in Israel and Jews in the United States share a common destiny to a great extent, and another 45% express the same sentiments, albeit only to “some extent.” Fully 93% of Israeli Jews believe that American and Israeli Jews share a mutual responsibility – and most of them feel this to a “great extent.” 6 To what extent do you feel that Jews in Israel and Jews in the Percent United States share a common destiny? To a great extent 30% To some extent 45% DK 2% Not much 20% Hardly at all 4% Total 100% To what extent does it seem to you that Jews in Israel and American Percent Jews should be responsible for one another's welfare? To a great extent 59% To some extent 34% DK 2% Not much 4% Hardly at all 1% Total 100% In sum, large majorities of Israeli Jews see an important connection between the Israeli and American Jewish communities. This finding of a national near-consensus among Israeli Jews is especially impressive in a society known for conflicts and contentiousness over a variety of issues. Israel’s Jewish populace today resoundingly rejects the positions of the Canaanites, an Israeli movement in the 1940s and 1950s who believed that “life in Israel bears no relationship to Jewish life in the Diaspora” (Charles Liebman and Eliezer Don-Yehiya, Civil Religion in Israel, University of California Press, 1983: 18). Very Wide Support for Birthright & for Israelis Learning About U.S. Jews Given the feelings of mutuality, it follows that Israeli Jews lend very widespread support to educational programs that promise to teach U.S. and Israeli Jews about one another. Birthright garners a very hefty margin of support – 90% in favor, and just 6% opposed.
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