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

Religious Israelis more likely to reject Palestinian sovereignty, back annexation - poll

When asked, an overwhelming majority (86%) of secular Israelis said the deal needed to be completed until the last of the hostages return home.

FEBRUARY 12, 2025ByAARON REICH
Infographic of results from an exclusive Jerusalem Post poll, February 11, 2025

Be A Mensch Foundation: Advancing dialogue between secular, haredi Israelis

The Be A Mensch (BAM) Foundation has been working for the past 11 years to promote tolerance among Jews with extremely different values and lifestyles. 

JANUARY 12, 2025ByABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
A BAM facilitator (R) meets with secular teens at Amos Oz High Scool in Ramat Aviv.

'Contemporary Humanistic Judaism': The contemporary movement of the Jewish world - review

Our Judaism is broadly defined as the collective historical experience of the Jewish people – a widely and wildly diverse experience that has helped foster our extraordinary resilience.

JANUARY 12, 2025ByRON KRONISH
RELIGIOUS AND secular Jews gather on Tisha B’Av outside Independence Hall in Tel Aviv to hear the annual reading of Eicha, the Book of Lamentations, last year.

Can secular Israel survive as the country marches into an extreme Messianic Age? - opinion

According to lawyer Yair Nehorai, Messianic Judaism is on the ascendancy and is in danger of taking over our police, army, and fragile democracy itself.

DECEMBER 28, 2024ByPAMELA PELED
Rabbi Yigal Levinstein delivers a lesson while activists protest against him outside an apartment building in Tel Aviv, on September 19, 2023.

I am a secular Israeli, do not deny my existence - opinion

"I think there is no such thing as a secular person who lives in our country," MK Simcha Rothman said in an interview on Daniel Dushi’s podcast.

DECEMBER 16, 2024BySUSAN HATTIS ROLEF
MK SIMCHA ROTHMAN, chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, speaks during a committee meeting last week.

Israel's path forward: Embracing the Jewish heritage of secularism - opinion

If the secular front in Israel wants to gain increased political support, it will need to begin not by stating what it is, but by defining who it is.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024BySAMUEL J. HYDE
Prominent activists of the Haskalah, the intellectual movement that sought modernization of Jewish life (Illustrative).

JPPI poll: October 7 brought secular Jews closer to Diaspora Jewry

Some 17% and 21% of secular and secular-traditional Jews in Israel, respectively, said that they were brought closer to diaspora Jews by "the events of October 7 and the war."

AUGUST 18, 2024ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
RELIGIOUS AND secular Jews gather on Tisha B’Av outside Independence Hall in Tel Aviv to hear the annual reading of Eicha, the Book of Lamentations, last year.

Despite disconnection from rabbinic authorities, Israelis still seek out spirituality - opinion

As we hope for better days, leaders concerned with preserving Israel’s strong Jewish identity need to find a way for religious life to flourish without coercion.

JUNE 22, 2024ByRABBI KENNETH BRANDER
A soldier's prayer book and army-issued tzitzit are seen at a staging area near the border with Gaza, Nov. 15, 2023.

Youth united: Religious and secular teens march together calling for an end to polarization, hatred

Many of the 20 thousand teens have lost family and friends in the war and experienced its horrors firsthand.

JUNE 20, 2024ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israeli teens march calling for unity during a time of deep division in Israel, June 19, 2024.

'Spinoza: Freedom’s Messiah': Paving the way for secular Jewish identity - review

Beyond his contributions to philosophy, Spinoza helped pioneer secular scholarship of the Bible by stressing its human authorship.

JUNE 11, 2024ByTIBOR KRAUSZ
PROBABLE PORTRAIT of Spinoza by Barend Graat, 1666