The Pluralistic Jewish State of Israel's Society

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

             Black Jewish Ethiopian, Druze, Christian, Muslim, all serving in IDF

Israel formally recognizes 15 religions, including Islam, the Baha'i and Druze faiths, as well as Chaldaic and many other Christian denominations, and others.  Each religious community freely exercises its faith, observes its own holy days and weekly day of rest, and administers its own internal affairs.  Israel protects the holy sites of all religions.

                                                  

                     Female Christian Israeli and IDF soldier

Israel is the only Middle eastern country where the Christian population is thriving instead of disappearing.  Between 1948 and 1998, Israel's Christians grew fourfold, from 34,,000 to 130,000.

                                              

The Baha'is, a religion persecuted in Muslim countries, built its world center in Haifa, Israel.  This is their temple.  It's  from the Babi sect in Persia whose followers were exiled to Acre in 1868. The center  was later transferred to Haifa where a mausoleum was erected over the body of the teacher of the faith.  Few Bahais live in Israel, however.  In fact, although there are adherents in close to 170 countries, there is no resident Baha'i population in Israel. The 650-700 Baha'is who can be found here at any given time are all volunteers who have come from some 85 countries to do service for periods ranging from a few months to a few years.  They are temporary residents.  

                                    

                       Circassians  

                                             Christians                    

                           

                                 Arab Muslim Israeli 
Bedouin from Negev

                               
   Arabs in IDF                      

                                               Druze

Israel's non-Jewish minority forms about 20% of the population and is made up of Arab Muslims, Arab Christians, non-Arab Christians, Druze, Bedouins, Circassians, Asians and others.

      Kenya African Jew              Kurdish Jew

The population of Israel  in 2021 is 8,835,701. 

80% of Israelis are Jews of different ethnicities and races from Arab countries, Ethiopia, India, Russia, the former Soviet Union republics, Latin America, the US and Europe.  Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim Middle Eastern and North African countries and their descendants make up over half of the Jewish population.  

                                                   

10,000 Karaites lived in Israel in 1973. Today, it's estimated with a population of 40,000.   They only follow the literal law of the Bible.  They had 9 synagogues.  Karaite Synagogue, founded by Anan Ben David, the founder of the Karaites, is the oldest synagogue in the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem.                                  

480 Samaritans lived in Israel in 1973.  They follow the Torah and Joshua.  They celebrate Passover at Mount Gerizim,  and have a synagogue.  

                                                 

         The Great Synagogue in Jerusalem (I was there).  

                                                   

 I was here, too.  It's where I looked down from the balcony where women and children sat, and saw a sea of prayer shawls over the heads of the men below.  It was a most beautiful site.  The Israeli prayer shawl is like a tent, huge, and the men meditate and pray in their tent (prayer shawl.)                                        

When I lived in Safed (1980-1985), there were many synagogues; shuls.  Most synagogues are Orthodox.   From 1986 to 2021, there have been attacks on synagogues in Israel.  Some synagogues are Ashkenazic and some are Sephardic, just like in the USA.  Israel has 2 Chief Rabbis:  The present Sephardi Chief Rabbi is Yitzhak Yosef, and the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi is David Lau, both of whom began their terms in 2013. The Rabbinate has jurisdiction over many aspects of Jewish life in Israel.

Resource: 

Magazine: ISRAEL 101, 2010 BY StandWithUs, p. 38

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_attacks_against_synagogues_in_Israel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synagogues_of_Jerusalem