Most Israeli Jews fast on Yom Kippur, while over half take part in prayer services, survey finds

Three-quarters (74%) of all Israeli Jews fast on Yom Kippur while over half (57%) participate in the day’s prayers, a new survey from the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) found.

About 63% of Israeli Jews fast fully and 11% fast partially (part of the day or in some years), but the figure varies across secular, religious, and non-religious traditional Jews.

Among secular Jews, less than half (47%) fast on Yom Kippur, with 28% fasting fully and 19% partially, while the number among non-religious traditional Jews and religous Jews is significantly higher.

Some 90% non-religious traditional Jews fast on Yom Kippur (77% fully and 13% partially), and 97%–98% of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox), religious, and religious-traditional Jews fast fully.

According to the survey, more Mizrahi Jews fast on Yom Kippur than Ashkenazi Jews and those of mixed background, with 81% Mizrahi Jews fasting fully and just about half (50.5%) of Ashkenazi Jews doing the same.

Only a small number of those who reported fasting partially or not at all are older, according to the survey data, suggesting the reasons are more linked to health or principle.

There is little variance between the genders of those who fast, the survey found, as 65% of men fast fully, compared to 61% of women. By contrast, 13% of women fast partially, compared with 10% of men.

A breakdown by age shows that the gender difference exists only among the aged 18–44; among those over 44, the proportion who fast fully is the same for men and women.

How many Israeli Jews participate in Yom Kippur prayers?

Of those who participate in Yom Kippur prayer services, 51% attend Orthodox services while a minority (6%) attend Reform or Conservative services.

Most religious-traditional Jews (90%) participate in Yom Kippur prayers.

Among non-religious traditional Jews, 67% participate (9% in non-Orthodox services), and among secular Jews, the number drops further, with only 20% participating (7% in non-Orthodox services).

In total, between a fifth and a quarter of Haredi, religious, religious-traditional, and non-religious traditional Jews participate in Yom Kippur prayer services, alongside 11% of secular Jews.

Of those who participate in Reform or Conservative services, half are secular and 48% are traditional.

Men participate in Yom Kippur prayers at a slightly higher rate than women, with the difference reflected clearly in Orthodox prayer services, where 54% of men participate in Orthodox prayer on Yom Kippur, compared with 48% of women.

Another 6% of both men and women participate in Reform or Conservative prayer services.

Differences across gender

Differences between participants genders are also pronounced among traditional groups, with 76% of men and 56% of women participating.

Mizrahi Jews also participate in Yom Kippur prayers at a higher rate (68%) than Ashkenazi Jews and those of mixed background, with the numbers at about half (50% and 51%, respectively).

However, non-religious traditional Mizrahi Jews have a lower rate of prayer participation which sits at 63% while that Ashkenazi Jews (74%) and people of mixed background (76%) is slightly higher.

Among secular Jews, the rate of Yom Kippur prayer participation among Mizrahi (22%), mixed (22%), and Ashkenazi Jews (18%) is similar.

For 18% of Israeli Jews, attending synagogue on Yom Kippur is their only synagogue visit of the entire year, including 37% of non-religious traditional Jews, 21% of religious-traditional Jews, and 16% of secular Jews.

Among those who attend synagogue services on Yom Kippur, 32% say it is their only synagogue visit during the year.

The survey was conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute in July–August 2026 for the "Religion and State in Israel Biannual,” with a sample of 1,002 Jewish respondents aged 18 and over, and was representative of Israel's Jewish population. The fieldwork was conducted by IPanel. The maximum sampling error is 3.1%.