Not Shoving Religion down People’s Throats

One of the most divisive issues in Israel is the idea of shoving religion down everyone’s throat. This phenomenon manifests itself in many ways. From requiring separate seating on public transportation, to closing off streets in Jerusalem on Shabbos.

For observant Jews, there is one day where this is not possible – Shabbos. Instead on Friday night when Shabbos begins - candles are lit, we sit together as a family, we make Kiddush, and we enjoy a leisurely multi-course meal in a well lit house. No smart-phones. No laptops. No TV. Nothing electronic. Just a family sitting together, eating, and talking to each other.

Secular Israelis expressed outrage over a new ad campaign that has cropped up on billboards and television throughout the country urging families to spend “an Israeli Friday” by making Kiddush – the traditional prayer blessing recited during Shabbat meal on Friday evenings. A television ad, which was reportedly financed by a group of wealthy Orthodox Jews, juxtaposes two Israeli families experiencing a typical Friday evening.

One family is depicted as having rowdy children who eat cereal for dinner and then spend “quality time” on the couch by yelling at one another while being preoccupied with their smartphones.

The other family, conversely, is seen around the dinner table, calmly and serenely observing the Sabbath dinner ritual of reciting the Kiddush. The father is conspicuously wearing ayarmulke.

“What kind of Friday night would you like your kids to remember?” the narrator asks. “Kiddush... A tradition of an Israeli Friday.”

The implication of the ad is that “real” Israelis are religiously observant, a notion that many secularists find insulting.