Soldiers (illustrative)
Soldiers (illustrative)iStock

Nearly two-thirds of Jewish Israelis believe that attendance at events during which women are heard singing should be only for those who wish to attend such events, a survey by the Israel Democracy Institute showed.

According to Jewish law, men are not allowed to hear women sing. Religious soldiers in the IDF, therefore, request to opt out of such events - but not always is their lifestyle honored.

The survey showed that unlike their politicians, Israelis are tolerant of the fact that there are soldiers who do not wish to participate in events in which women are heard singing.

The full survey was conducted among a representative sample of Israel's population. The specific questions were directed at the relevant Jewish population for these questions.

A full 66.1% of respondents said that attendance at such events should be only for those who desire it, compared to 18.4% who said that soldiers should be required to participate. Another 7.9% said that in their opinion, it should be prohibited to hold a ceremony in which female soldiers perform on a stage at an IDF event.

Divided by political camps, 10.6% of rightists supported banning such activities in the IDF, compared to 1% of leftist voters.

The survey was conducted by the Smith Institute and included 805 people.