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

A new Israel Democracy Institute survey reveals that 74% of Israeli Jews fast on Yom Kippur, with 63% fasting fully and 11% partially. Over half (57%) participate in prayer services, with 51% attending Orthodox services. The survey breaks down observance by religious affiliation, ethnicity, gender, and age, showing higher fasting rates among religious and traditional Jews, and among Mizrahi Jews compared to Ashkenazi Jews.

A new survey from the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) provides a detailed snapshot of Yom Kippur observance among Israeli Jews. The data shows that 74% of Israeli Jews fast on the holiday, with 63% fasting fully and 11% partially. Observance varies sharply by religious identity: among secular Jews, less than half (47%) fast, while 90% of non-religious traditional Jews and 97-98% of Haredi, religious, and religious-traditional Jews fast fully. Ethnic differences are also notable: 81% of Mizrahi Jews fast fully, compared to 50.5% of Ashkenazi Jews. Gender differences are small overall, with 65% of men and 61% of women fasting fully. Regarding prayer, 57% of Israeli Jews participate in Yom Kippur services, with 51% attending Orthodox services and only 6% attending Reform or Conservative services. Participation is highest among religious-traditional Jews (90%) and lowest among secular Jews (20%). For 18% of Israeli Jews, attending synagogue on Yom Kippur is their only synagogue visit of the year. The survey was conducted in July-August 2026 with a sample of 1,002 Jewish respondents aged 18 and over, with a maximum sampling error of 3.1%.