Secularism in Israel

This population was defined by the Israeli culture and Hebrew language, their experience with the Holocaust, and the need to band together against conflict with hostile neighbors in the Middle East.

[3] The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel was approved by members of the Jewish community of Palestine and the Zionist movement.

The United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution that called for a Jewish state to be established in Eretz Israel on November 29, 1947.

When David Ben-Gurion became the first prime minister of Israel, although he was the head of the large Socialist party, he formed a government that included the religious Jewish parties, and took a moderate line in forming the relationship between the state and the religious institutions, at the same time continuing their status as state organs.

Many businesses close on Shabbat, including El Al, Israel's leading airline, along with many forms of public transportation, and restaurants.

[8] (HaTikvah was sung at Jewish prayer services for many years prior to the 1948 UN partition that allowed for the reestablishment of Israel as a nation state.)

Due to the role of religious influences in government and politics, Israel is sometimes not considered to be a fully secular state in the common sense of the word.

Tel Aviv, for example, is considered more secular; it is very cosmopolitan, with modern hotels, boutiques, coffee shops, and events with loud music.

As of November 2012, secular and Orthodox Jews are competing in a bidding war for apartments in Harish after a court ruled that the Israel Land Administration could not discriminate between them.