Religion & Ethnicity : Isreal

Freedom of religion has been safeguarded by the state; in 1967, the Law for the Protection of Holy Places was passed along with the annexation of Jerusalem’s sacred Jews make up 82% of the population (4,150,000), Muslims 13.8% (700,000), Christians 2.5% (125,000), and Druze and others 1.7% (85,000). Each community nerates its own religious courts, funded by the Ministry of Religion, and controls its own holy sites. Every religions’ days of rest are guaranteed by law.

The vast majority of Israeli Jews are secular; only about 15% are Orthodox or Ultra-Orthodox (in Jerusalem, always a magnet for religious orthodoxy, you might think otherwise). In an electoral system where Jewish religious parties have often wielded disproportionate power, it’s no surprise that there is a powerful Jewish religious establishment. Much to the aggravation of many secular Israelis, Rabbinical courts have a state monopoly on matrimonial issues.