Secular

Bnei Brak Municipality allegedly blocked road with dumpsters before Shabbat in protest - report

Tensions rise between secular and haredi residents in Bnei Brak as police say, "Secular people also intentionally provoke haredim, drive recklessly, and do burnouts."

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Haredi protestors stand under a bridge, blocking a road near Bnei Brak on Wednesday, 17 June.
THE ZIONIST identity didn’t overcome the Jewish identity, nor did the opposite occur: An IDF soldier puts on tefillin.

National-religious men overrepresented in IDF reserves as haredim stay absent, IDI analysis finds

National-Religious men were found to have increased in service substantially from the start of the war until 2025, while the participation of secular men decreased the most of any group.

|ByJONAH DAVIDOV
RABBI ABRAHAM Joshua Heschel presents the Judaism and World Peace Award to Martin Luther King Jr., 1965.

As I turn 80, I hope my life is and continues to be a journey that inspires others - opinion

Will I ever be religious? I do not know. But, as Baruch ben Michael said in his Ethics, “All things perfect are as difficult as they are rare.”

|ByNATHAN LOPES CARDOZO
Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) people in Tel Aviv in June.

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community feels misunderstood. Here’s why - opinion

If haredim see that they are treated with understanding, respect, and sensitivity, they will more readily change and adapt in the service of the greater good

|ByMOTI LEITNER

Secular unease at municipal elections results in Jerusalem, fear of change in city governance

A Tale of Two Jerusalems: Secular Unease Rising as ultra-Orthodox parties win over half the seats in Jerusalem’s City Council, indicating a potential change in the city’s governance.

MARCH 5, 2024BySIMCHA PASKO/THE MEDIA LINE
A group of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked traffic and the light rail in Jerusalem demonstrating against a Haredi draft into the IDF. February 26, 2024.

Tolerance and respect is key amid wartime municipal elections - opinion

As Israel holds local elections today, which by definition emphasize disagreements and generate division and contrariness, here are two examples that show a different way.

FEBRUARY 27, 2024ByTOVA HERZL
AN INSCRIPTION with an excerpt of Lord Allenby’s address at the dedication of the YMCA in Jerusalem in 1933 is on display at the entrance to the complex.

A look at competitive victimhood in Israeli society

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: As Israel continues to navigate the complexities of its societal fabric, this study offers a crucial insight into the mechanisms of conflict and perception among its people.

FEBRUARY 9, 2024ByNECHUMI YAFFE
WHEN QUESTIONED about discrimination in state budget allocations, ultra-Orthodox respondents overwhelmingly felt they were treated unfairly, while secular respondents tended to deny such discrimination.

What is the real meaning of unity in Israel these days? - opinion

You can’t open a newspaper, listen to the news, or scroll through social media without reading about the way the people of Israel have come together to fight for survival.

DECEMBER 29, 2023ByJONATHAN LIEBERMAN
BEIT MIDRASH LE’MAASEH: Men and women from across the political spectrum and the religious scale sit around one table.

Secular groups warn: 'The war must not be used to push religion in army bases'

They say that allowing groups such as the Noam Party into bases violates the rights of gay soldiers, due to its homophobic nature.

DECEMBER 6, 2023ByYUVAL BARNEA
Noam Party leader MK Avi Maoz, December 5, 2022.

Reciprocity must be precondition in secular-religious relations in Israel - opinion

Without reciprocity, the use of the concept of “liberalism” is mere demagoguery.

OCTOBER 3, 2023ByURI REGEV
CONFRONTATIONS TAKE place at the onset of Yom Kippur on Sunday evening, at Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, over the issue of the placement of a partition between men and women for a High Holy Day service there.

Israel's chief rabbi: Secular Jews have lower intelligence, are jealous of haredim

"They do not find satisfaction in life; everything is driven by the desires of this world," Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said.

OCTOBER 1, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef speaks during a ceremony of the Israeli police for the Jewish new year at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem on September 22, 2022.

When solidarity was lost on the most important day of the Jewish year - opinion

The hurt felt by the broad section of the Israeli public that is moderately traditional may have serious consequences for the struggle against the government’s judicial overhaul.

OCTOBER 1, 2023ByAMICHAI COHEN
WE WOULD all have benefited from a different approach that left Yom Kippur outside the struggle, says the writer.

Can giving Israel Sundays off heal the religious divide?

Rabbi Warren Goldstein: "Introducing Sunday as an additional weekend day would mitigate the tensions and divisions within Israeli society concerning Shabbat."

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
Businesswoman sitting on her desk in an office (illustrative).

Even with differing opinions, we should still respect others - opinion

It appears that in Tel Aviv, there is hardly a trace left of the deeply-rooted Jewish tradition within the public sphere.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023ByOMER DOSTRI
CONFRONTATIONS TAKE place at the onset of Yom Kippur on Sunday evening, at Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, over the issue of the placement of a partition between men and women for a High Holy Day service there.