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people than do secular people, who have less contact with those different from themselves. In
fact, the most isolated group, religiously speaking, consists of Ashkenazic nonobservant Jews,
not Haredi Jews.
A surprisingly high number of Israeli Jews, 67 percent of the total Jewish population, say
they tend to favor or defi nitely favor separation of religion and state. Thirty-nine percent sup-
port establishing civil marriage, although half of these report that they themselves would still
opt for a religious ceremony. On the other side, 40 percent of the population oppose civil
marriage. Support divides somewhat along ethnic lines: Mizrahim are more likely than Ash-
kenazim to want to maintain the status quo, and immigrants from the former Soviet Union
prefer to reduce the current level of religion in public life.
Two-thirds of Israeli Jews believe that shopping malls and places of entertainment should
be permitted to be open on the Sabbath. Haredim and most Datim believe they should remain
closed. A large majority, including the totally nonobservant, agree, however, that food in pub-
lic places should be kosher. But they object to giving kashrut certifi cates only to places that
are closed on the Sabbath. Thus, the preference is for a moderate level of public observance of
Sabbath laws.
This attitude would seem to indicate support for the Reform and Conservative religious
movements. Yet few would consider joining them. While Israelis generally favor equal status
for non-Orthodox and Orthodox rabbis, most relatively secular Israeli Jews prefer individual
observance to institutionalization of religious practices.
The most emotional issue causing secular-religious (or, more accurately, secular-Haredi)
tension has been army service. Haredi men studying full-time in religious seminaries are ex-
empt from military duty, a provision originally set up after the Holocaust, when so many rabbis
and religious teachers had been murdered in Europe that few remained alive. Over the decades,
however, this privilege of military exemption has been extended to almost all Haredi men.
Many non-Haredim feel this is unfair, though they also admit that most Haredim do not
have the skills to make a valuable contribution to the army. Still, 90 percent of Israeli Jews —
and 59 percent of the most observant polled —believe that Haredi men should be required
to serve, and 70 - 80 percent support the recruitment of religious women to the army or to
national service. In contrast, all Dati men tend to serve, and they often volunteer for combat
units.
Despite controversies over the role of religion in public life, the frustration that many feel
with Orthodox domination of the Rabbinate, Haredi demands, and the confl ict over political
power in Jerusalem, Israeli society is not at present polarized between religious and secular.
Given the lack of emphasis on making changes and the lack of movements on either side dedi-
cated to doing so, the status quo is likely to remain in place.
Haredim (“Ultra-Orthodox”)
The word Haredim means “those in awe or fear of divine power.” Haredim are often mislead-
ingly called “ultra-Orthodox” in English, even though in Judaism a person either is or is not
Orthodox; no extra activities make one Jew more religiously observant than another Jew. In
other words, Haredim cannot claim more religious legitimacy than other Orthodox groups,
 
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