Israelis split on acceptance of homosexuality - Pew report
Overall, Israeli society is about equally split between those who are accepting (47%) of homosexuality and those who are not (45%).
By TZVI JOFFREALL COLORS of the rainbow: The LGBT community’s recent mass protest in Tel Aviv.(photo credit: AVSHALOM SHOSHANI)
Israeli society is split on its acceptance of homosexuality, but is still far more accepting than other Middle Eastern countries, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.The report, titled "The Global Divide on Homosexuality Persists" asked respondents whether "Homosexuality should be accepted by society or homosexuality should not be accepted by society." Respondents were asked to say which option was closer to their opinion. The same question has been asked by Pew since 1994.The Pew survey found that, around the world, there is an increasing acceptance of homosexuality in many countries, although acceptance still remains sharply divided based on country, economic status, religion and political leanings.A number of countries included in the survey have even seen a double-digit increase in acceptance compared to just a few years ago. In the US, where same-sex marriage is legal, 72% of respondents said homosexuality should be accepted compared to just 49% as recently as 2007.While a steady rise in acceptance has been noted in the country since 2000, acceptance increased more rapidly after same-sex marriage became legal. Partisan divides remain however, with lower acceptance among Republicans compared to among Democrats. The US still has one of the lowest rates of acceptance among Western European and North and South American countries.In Israel, the rise has been more gradual with only a 9% increase in acceptance since 2007. Overall, Israeli society is about equally split between those who are accepting (47%) of homosexuality and those who are not (45%).In other countries in the Middle East, acceptance is significantly lower. In Tunisia, acceptance rose by 7% among the population, while in Turkey acceptance rose by 16%. In Lebanon, acceptance actually dropped by 5%. In Tunisia, only 9% of the population is accepting of homosexuality, compared to 25% of the population in Turkey and 13% in Lebanon.Despite the relatively high acceptance rates in Israel, LGBTQphobia remains a significant issue in the country, with a 36% rise noted in the number of LGBTQphobic incidents reported in 2019 by the Aguda - The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel.During the series of elections for Knesset in the past year, a new party, Noam, was formed out of the Hazon organization. Both the organization and the party focused largely on campaigning against LBTQ+ rights and the Reform movement and conducted a nationwide ad and marketing campaign on social media, text messages and billboards.In many countries, the younger population is more accepting of homosexuality than the older population. In South Korea, 79% of 18-29 year-olds are accepting of homosexuality, compared to only 23% of those 50 and older.Wealthier populations and more educated populations tend to be more accepting of homosexuality as well, according to the report. In Israel, 52% of higher income earners are accepting of homosexuality, compared to just 30% of lower income earners.Those on the ideological left also tend to be more accepting than those on the ideological right. In Israel, those in the center are actually more accepting (66%) than both the right-wing (38%) and left-wing (60%) population. In most other countries, those in the center are less accepting than those on the left.In most countries, religious people are less accepting of homosexuality than those who are less religious or not religious at all. This difference is noticeable in many countries, regardless of the overall religiousness of the country. In Israel, those who say religion is not very important in their lives are almost three times as likely to be accepting of homosexuality than those who say religion is very important.Among religious people surveyed, different religious affiliations are more or less accepting. In Israel, Jews are more likely to be accepting of homosexuality (53%) than Muslims (17%).Overall, majorities in 16 of the 34 countries surveyed said homosexuality should be accepted. Acceptance is highest in Western Europe and North America, while Central and Eastern Europe are divided on the matter and most in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine are unaccepting.The Asia-Pacific region shows little agreement on the matter, with high acceptance in Australia and the Phillipines, but low acceptance in Indonesia. In the three countries surveyed in Latin America, strong majorities said they accept homosexuality.
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