Almost half of surveyed Israelis want entertainment venues closed on Tisha B’av, Tzohar poll finds

A Tzohar poll found that 49.6% of Israelis support nationwide closures of entertainment venues on Tisha B’Av, while 35.6% favor local decisions.

Almost half of Israelis want entertainment venues closed on Tisha B’av, a new poll published by Tzohar Rabbinical Organization on their Mashav TV channel found, ahead of the day in the Jewish calendar that commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which begins on Wednesday night and runs until Thursday evening.

Currently, the law requires entertainment venues, including restaurants, to close in the evening at the start of both Remembrance Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day, whereas closures on Tisha B’Av are left to local authorities.

Of the 508 people surveyed, 49.6% said the public should demand a national uniform law requiring entertainment centers to close, as they do on Remembrance Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day.

However, 35.6% of those surveyed believe this should be decided at the local authority level rather than at the national level.

A minority, at 14.8%, believe that there should be no legislation or enforcement at either the national or local level.

Tzohar broke down those surveyed into demographics. 52.2% of men and 47.1% of women polled supported a national uniform law, 31.7% of men and 39.4% of women supported a local authority-level decision, and 16.1% of men and 13.5% of women believed there should be no legislation or enforcement at any level.

The survey results were also broken down on a religious observance level. It found that 96.8% of haredim (ultra-Orthodox) want nationally enforced closures, along with 86.6% of national-religious Jews, 57.3% of Masorti/Conservative Jews, and 29.2% of secular Jews. It also found that 3.2% of haredim supported a local-level decision, along with 7.5% of national-religious Jews, 32.5% of Conservative Jews, and 49% of secular Jews.

None of the haredi Jews polled supported no legislative measures being taken, while 6% of national-religious Jews, 10.2% of Conservative Jews, and 21.7% of secular Jews polled held this view.

Querying secular women, 25-34 year olds, Conservative Jews, Jerusalemites on their views

The survey also analyzed four specific demographics, asking which statement they most closely align with: whether businesses should be allowed to choose to remain open on Remembrance Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day, whether to enforce closures on Tisha B’av, or whether to rescind all laws on the matter.

The first demographic analyzed was secular women, 52.4% of whom supported businesses’ ability to choose, 27.8% believed that closures should be enforced, and 19.8% believed that all laws should be rescinded.

The second demographic, Conservative Jews, held a different view: 57.3% believed that closures should be enforced, 32.5% believed that businesses should be able to choose, and 10.2% believed that all laws should be rescinded.

The third demographic, respondents between the ages of 25-34, believe that closures should be enforced, with 37.7% believing that businesses should be able to choose, and 13.1% believing that all laws should be rescinded.

The fourth demographic, residents of the Jerusalem area, 68.6% of whom believe that closures should be enforced, and 15.7% believe each of the other two options.

Rabbi Asher Sabag, a member of Tzohar Rabbinical Organization’s Rabbinical Council, addressed the results of the poll.

“Tisha B’Av is truly a major missed opportunity, because it is a national day, not a religious one, and for some reason it has somehow become ingrained in the public consciousness as a religious day,” Sabag said.

“It is a day that speaks precisely about our existence here in the State of Israel, that we returned after a long exile and want to remain here and create a sustainable state without repeating the mistakes of the past,” he added.

“The change needs to come naturally from the public, and not from coercion,” he said.

Who is Tzohar, and their Mashav TV channel?

Tzohar is a national-religious rabbinical organization founded in 1995. On its English-language website, it describes itself as an organization that “drives and shapes public policy to secure the Jewish character and future of the State of Israel,” with a “mission to foster vibrant and inspiring Jewish identity to guarantee the Jewish future of the state.” It also describes itself as a movement that “shapes Jewish life in Israel through advocacy and legislation and cultivates an influential and responsive Modern Orthodox leadership.”

Tzohar aims to bridge the gap between religious and secular Jews, including by providing alternatives to the Rabbinate’s kashrut and marriage services.

Mashav TV was established with the “aim of creating a unifying, in-depth,

The recent poll came as part of the Tzohar Index on Judaism and Tradition, which examines the sentiments, trends, and positions of Israeli society.