Survey shows most Israelis back women Torah readings at Western Wall

The Hiddush organization, which lobbies for religious pluralism in Israel, releases a survey showing most Israelis support allowing women to read from Torah scrolls at the Western Wall.

The survey conducted in December, shows 62 percent of Israelis support the move.

The number is even higher, 86%, when polling only secular Israelis. Among so-called “traditional” Israelis, 61% back the move. However, only 19% of “Zionist Orthodox” and 5% of ultra-Orthodox are in support.

“It is starkly clear that the vast majority of Jewish Israelis support the right of women to read the Torah in the women’s section of the Western Wall plaza and reject the Chief Rabbinate’s and the State’s position that they should be prohibited from doing so,” Hiddush head Rabbi Uri Regev says in a statement.

Earlier Wednesday, the High Court ordered the state to either explain why women cannot read Torahs at the Western Wall or allow them to do so.

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