Secular

Café Basimta: The Jerusalem café where Shabbat, religious freedom, and evangelism collide - opinion

Secular Israelis began showing up, buying coffee not because they wanted to hear about Jesus, but because they wanted to make a point about religious coercion.

|ByJONATHAN FELDSTEIN, DAVID NEKRUTMAN
The writers – Jonathan Feldstein (L) and David Nekrutman – outside Café Basimta, not on Shabbat.
The empty streets in Tel Aviv, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and the holiest of Jewish holidays. Israel came to a standstill for 25-hours during the high holiday of Yom Kippur when observant Jews fast and Israelis are prohibited from driving, October 2, 2025.

In the shadow of October 7: How Yom Kippur has changed for some secular Israelis

The October 7 attack has affected all Israelis somehow. Some have questioned God’s existence. Others have gotten closer to religion, and sought connection to spirituality.

|ByLINDA GRADSTEIN
A Jewish man blows a shofar at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City during the final Selichot prayers ahead of Yom Kippur, September 19, 2026.

Most Israeli Jews fast on Yom Kippur, while over half take part in prayer services, survey finds

Only a small number of those reported to be fasting partially or not at all are older people, according to the survey data, suggesting that the reasons are more linked to health or principle.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Haredi protestors stand under a bridge, blocking a road near Bnei Brak on Wednesday, 17 June.

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

Opponents of Israel’s judicial reform see parallels in Tisha Be’av

According to Jewish tradition, a string of calamities have befallen the Jews on the Ninth of Av. The destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

JULY 27, 2023ByPHILISSA CRAMER/JTA
WORSHIPERS SIT on the ground as a sign of mourning on Tisha Be’av last year at the Western Wall

How many Israelis think the national crisis will end in compromise? - survey

"The current survey indicates that the general public sees great importance in Israel's national unity, while the Israeli government has neglected this issue," said "Gesher" CEO Ilan Geal Dor.

JULY 26, 2023ByMOSHE COHEN/MAARIV
NETANYAHU AND Gantz – can they put their animosity aside and serve the public?

'Parallel Lines': Learning from writing a fictional novel - opinion

Discussing the divisions and tensions between Jerusalem's distinctly separate "tribes" in a new fictional novel, Parallel Lines.

JULY 21, 2023ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
OUTGOING AMBASSADOR of the United States to Israel Tom Nides sits with the author at her book launch earlier this month in Jerusalem

Atheist-religious tensions in Europe could spell disaster - opinion

A new clash is brewing in Europe. After years of tensions, the European conflict escalated last week to violence. But is this a conflict of secularism vs. religion?

JULY 14, 2023ByGOL KALEV
MUSLIM MIGRANTS arrive in Munich, Germany, 2015.

Almost half of Israelis identify as traditional Jews, defying conventional labels - analysis

Rejecting coercion in any form, traditionalists staunchly support freedom of religion and religious liberties, extending this support to both secularists and the ultra-Orthodox.

JULY 10, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
A Jew praying at the Western Wall

Israel as a Jewish state must be what all Israelis agree on - opinion

For many secular people, there is a looming specter of a theocracy waiting to descend upon us all. This has led to a tremendous resentment of religion and religious people in Israel.

JUNE 28, 2023ByDOUGLAS ALTABEF
THE MASSES gather at the Western Wall on Jerusalem Day, last month. This is the Jewish homeland, not the new Denmark, or the 51st US state, says the writer.

Religiosity and views on judicial reform are strongly correlated - study

According to the study, the reform and subsequent protests have brought long-standing religious and ethnic conflicts to the forefront.

JUNE 12, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
A person reacts during a march from Ramat Gan to the Ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of Bnei Brak in protest against monetary demands by the Ultra-Orthodox community for the upcoming budget, in Bnei Brak east of Tel Aviv, Israel, May 17, 2023.

Three Ladies, Three Lattes: The shrinking secular

You ask the questions, the three latte ladies provide the answers!

JUNE 3, 2023ByTHREE LADIES, THREE LATTES
JERUSALEM STREET scene.

Secular, Orthodox Israelis open up about religious tensions in Israel - survey

Findings show that the secular public feels under attack from the other side in higher percentages than the ultra-orthodox sector does.

MAY 31, 2023ByYUVAL BAGNO/MAARIV
A Secular woman argues with an Ultra orthodox jewish man outside a memorial service for Rabbi Hayyim ben Jacob Abulafia in the northern Israeli city of Tiberias on February 17, 2019.

Haredi society is forcing poverty, deprivation on those that want to work - opinion

Many of us know little about this community, which has chosen to separate itself from the rest of Israeli society.

MAY 28, 2023ByCOOKIE SCHWAEBER-ISSAN
BNEI BRAK: The thing that is unacceptable is forcing a life of poverty and deprivation upon those who want to work, says the writer.