Thousands at Kotel for Selichot
Thousands at Kotel for SelichotHadas Parush/Flash90

A survey conducted last month by the Smith Institute revealed that a large majority of voters for the Jewish Home party reject any compromise which would allow a prayer plaza for the Reform Movement at the Western Wall.

Seventy percent of respondents who said that they voted for the Jewish Home party in the last election responded that they were opposed when asked: "Do you support or oppose the allocation of space at the southern part of the Western Wall for the Reform Movement for prayers and other purposes?"

An overwhelming majority of haredi respondents, 94%, said that they opposed the deal.

The survey also asked: "If you hear about any compromise which would allow the Reform Movement to pray at the Western Wall, do you think haredi and religious parties should or should not set this as a red line and should bring down the coalition?"

Religious respondents were almost evenly split on the question, with about half believing that the establishment of a Reform prayer service at the Western Wall would not cross a red line while the other half believes that it would cross a red line. The same percentage of haredi respondents, 94%, said that it would cross a red line that the haredi parties should bring down the coalition over.

When asked if they thought that the opening of businesses on the Sabbath would harm the Jewish character of the State of Israel, 80% of Jewish Home voters said it would. Almost all haredi respondents, 98%, said it would harm the Jewish character of the State of Israel as well.

The survey was conducted by the Smith Institute in December 2016 among 500 men and women in a representative sample of Israel's adult Jewish population. It has a margin of error of 4.5%.