Religion and the city: local governments as the flag holders of freedom from religion in Israel

Figures & data

Figure 1. Illustration of hypotheses.

Table 1. Religious bans by central government vs. service initiation by local governments.

Religious bans by central government	Service initiation by local governments
Marriage – Orthodox Rabbinate’s monopoly on Jewish marriage; civil marriage, inter-religious and same-sex marriage are forbidden (Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction Law, 1953)	Local governments offer residents a couples registry for local procedures for all types of couples (including same-sex)
Public transportation on Saturdays – State institutions that provide public transportation must abide by the regulations defined by Orthodox Judaism that prevent public transport services on Saturdays (Traffic Ordinances, 1991)	Co-production of free public transportation throughout the weekend by local governments. Some by co-production with NGOs
Commerce on Sabbath – Jews are forbidden from working on Shabbat; commerce businesses are not open (‘Hours of Work and Rest Law’, 1951) Municipalities are responsible for keeping the religious aspects of resting days (‘Law of Authorization’, 1990). Sabbath commerce law passed by the Knesset (2018) allows only limited areas to open	Local governments enacting laws to open commerce on the Sabbath in certain areas across their turf

Figure 2. Accumulative positive replies to initiating a civil marriage option.

Figure 3. Accumulative positive replies to initiating public transportation on Saturday.

Table 2. Level of trust in local government vs. Central government.

	Level of trust
	Local government	Central government
Survey 1	40%	21%
Survey 2	41%	18%
Survey 3	43%	23%
Survey 4	44%	24%