Abstract
Does Yom Kippur impact electoral turnout in religious and secular Jewish communities in Israel? By collecting data on electoral behavior in elections to local councils from 1983 to 2018 in Jewish-secular, Jewish-religious and non-Jewish municipalities, this research attempts to elucidate the relationship between the communal Yom Kippur experience and electoral turnout. This research finds that the Yom Kippur experience appears to decrease turnout in secular municipalities, while no statistically significant impact was observed in religious municipalities. Research on the psychological significance of novelty and religious events, as well as ethnographic analysis of Israel, suggests that the Yom Kippur experience undermines the stakes of both intra- and inter-communal disputes, decreasing the perceived significance of the elections in the heterogenous secular municipalities. Further research is necessary to explore the politically potent religious undertones of Israeli secular identity.
Recommended Citation
Sigler, Gall
(2022)
"The Religious Seculars: How Does Yom Kippur Impact Electoral Turnout?,"
Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs: Vol. 1:
Iss.
4, Article 1.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/dujpew/vol1/iss4/1
Included in
Economics Commons, Education Commons, Geography Commons, Law Commons, Legal Studies Commons, Medicine and Health Sciences Commons, Political Science Commons, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons