Yom Kippur Fasting and Synagogue Attendance Higher Than Expected in Israel

A new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute reveals that a significant majority of Israeli Jews, 74%, observe the Yom Kippur fast, with 63% fasting completely and 11% partially. This practice is nearly universal among the ultra-Orthodox, religious, and religious-traditional segments of the population, with 97%-98% fasting fully. Even among those identifying as traditional but not religious, 90% fast, 77% of whom do so completely.

The survey also found that 47% of secular Israelis observe the Yom Kippur fast, with 28% fasting fully and 19% partially. This contrasts with the 53% of secular respondents who do not fast at all. A notable demographic difference emerged within the secular population, with 63% of secular Israelis of Mizrahi (Eastern) origin fasting either fully or partially, compared to 39% of secular Israelis of Ashkenazi (Western) origin. Those with mixed origins reported a 53% fasting rate.

Furthermore, the poll indicated that 18% of all Israeli Jews attend synagogue services on Yom Kippur, even if they do not regularly attend services throughout the year. This figure is highest among non-religious traditional Jews at 37%, followed by religious traditional Jews at 21%, and secular Jews at 16%. Attendance among national-religious Jews was 8%, and among the ultra-Orthodox, it was 4%.

The survey was conducted in July-August 2026 among 1,002 Jewish Israelis aged 18 and over. The fieldwork was carried out by iPanel for the Israel Democracy Institute, with a maximum sampling error of 3.1%. Respondents were asked about their fasting habits.