A study of dating app users in Israel found that the vast majority believe that the system of marriage in Israel is in need of a serious overhaul.
OkCupid, a US-based global dating app company, said it surveyed 15,000 users of its app in Israel and according to its findings, a whopping 95% of users age 18-50 believe it should be easier to attain a get, a religious writ of divorce. Of those polled, 89% said that marriage in Israel should be allowed outside the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate.
Women were slightly more likely than men – 12% vs 10% – to want to preserve the rabbinate’s monopoly on marriage.
When OkCupid users in Israel were asked what Judaism means to them, 41% said it was a culture, 11% said it was a religion, 40% said it was both and 8% said it was neither.
The survey data released this week by the Israeli branch of the app reveals that users of the service skew overwhelmingly liberal, secular and based in the Tel Aviv area.
Asked their opinion on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 18% said he was good for Israel and 67% said they were not a fan, while 15% said they had no opinion.
An overwhelming majority – 94% – said there should be public transportation in Israel on Shabbat. Among those polled, 55% said the IDF draft should be mandatory while 45% said it should not.
Asked about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 14% of users said they believed in a one-state solution, 28% believed in a two-state solution, 52% said they believed the issue was more complicated, and 6% said they simply didn’t care. Furthermore, just 18% of users said they believed US President Donald Trump could moderate peace between Israel and Palestinians, while 82% said that he could not.
“We’re not shy about asking the hard questions at OkCupid – in fact, they play a big role in fueling our sophisticated matching algorithm,” said chief marketing officer Melissa Hobley. “The answers regarding marriages and obtaining a get certainly highlight a concern singles have about marriages.”
OkCupid, a dating app first launched in 2004, asks its users dozens of questions to match them up with like-minded daters based on the site’s algorithm. While the app spans 60 million users in 113 countries, OkCupid has personalized its questions in just 10 markets, Israel included.
So while Israeli app users are asked plenty of global questions – what sports do you follow, do you like beer, and what are your feelings on astrology – they may also be asked to choose latkes vs. sufganiyot, the shuk vs. the grocery store, and Mount Hermon vs. Eilat.
And for their thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, of course.