Yom Ha’atzmaut and Yom HaZikaron: the observance of Israel commemoration days by UK Jews

In this report:

How many British Jews mark Israel’s Memorial Day (Yom HaZikaron) and the country’s Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut)? This factsheet uses data from JPR’s recent study of Jewish identity in the UK today, based on the responses of nearly 5,000 British Jews, members of the JPR research panel, to its UK National Jewish Identity Survey, held in November – December 2022. The results represent the first-ever look at the extent to which British Jews mark these holidays and provide important insights into the nature of their Jewishness and their relationship with Israel.

Some of the key findings in this factsheet:

• 24% of adult Jews in the UK observed or marked Yom HaZikaron ‘either in person or online’ in 2022, and a slightly higher proportion (32%) observed or marked Yom Ha’atzmaut. About one in five (22%) observed both days.
• As a general rule, the more religious a person is, the more likely they are to observe these events. Still, Haredi Jews buck this trend with levels of participation among them more or less equal to the most secular and religiously non-practising.
• Jews who have experienced multiple informal Jewish educational experiences are considerably more likely to participate in either of these days than those who have experienced fewer such experiences or none.
• The same is true for Jews who attended a Jewish school, even if only for one stage, compared to those who did not.