Religious relations in Israel

Religious relations in Israel are relations between Haredim, non-Haredi Orthodox, Karaite, Ethiopian, Reform, Conservative, and secular Jews, as well as relations between different religions represented in Israel. The religious status quo, agreed to by David Ben-Gurion with the Orthodox parties at the time of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, is an agreement on the role that Judaism would play in Israel's government and the judicial system. Tensions exist between religious and secular groups in Israel.

As of 2010^[update], 8% of Israel's Jewish population above the age of 20 defines itself as Haredi (sometimes referred to as ultra-Orthodox), 12% as religious (generally Orthodox), 13% as traditional-religious, 25% as traditional, and 42% as secular. Among the Arab population 8% define themselves as very religious, 47% as religious, 27% as not very religious, and 18% as not religious.

For those under the age of 20, in Jewish secondary schools 20.2% are Haredi, 17.3% are religious and 62.5% are non-religious. In primary school, 28.9% are Haredi, 18.5% religious and 52.6% are non-religious.

The State of Israel allows freedom of religion for all religious communities, both in law and in practice. Freedom House reports that in Israel: "Freedom of religion is respected. Each community has jurisdiction over its own members in matters of marriage, burial, and divorce." Religious tensions exist between Jewish Haredi Israelis and Jewish non-Haredi Israelis. Haredi Israeli males devote their young adulthood to full-time Talmudic studies and therefore generally get exemptions from military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Originally the exemption from uniform conscription was intended to apply to a small number of elite religious students. Many leaders of Haredi yeshivas encourage students to apply for exemptions from service, ostensibly to protect them from the secularizing environment of the IDF. Over the years, the number of exemptions has grown to about 10% of conscriptable manpower. Many secular Israelis consider the system of exemptions to be systematic shirking of duty to serve in the IDF by a large segment of society.

...
Wikipedia