Pew study: Israel only country where men pray more than women
Israel is the only country in the world where a higher percentage of men say they engage in daily prayer than women, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.
The study, which draws on data from more than 2,500 censuses and surveys taken over the last few years in 192 countries, found that women generally are more religious than men. An estimated 83.4 percent of women worldwide identify with a faith group, compared to 79.9 percent among men, according to the study released March 22 and titled “The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World.”
Women in Christian countries report more weekly attendance at religious services than men, but the opposite is true in majority Muslim countries and in Israel. This is due in large part to religious norms that prioritize male worship participation in Muslim and Orthodox Jewish societies, the study found.
In the 84 countries for which data were available, women said they pray daily at a rate 8 percentage points higher than men. Women pray daily more than men in 43 of those countries. With the exception of Israel, the two genders pray daily at roughly equal rates in the remainder of the countries. — jta
Egypt’s ‘Jewish Quarter’ wins top award at Bahrain TV festival
An Egyptian TV miniseries called “The Jewish Quarter” won the top TV award at a radio and television festival in Bahrain.
The series, which premiered in June 2015, was named best TV series at the 14th Gulf Radio and Television Festival, Ahram Online reported March 22.
The series, which first aired during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, is about an Egyptian Jewish family in the 1950s and focuses on the doomed romance between a Jewish girl and a Muslim man.
The series often cast the Muslim Brotherhood as a greater threat to Egypt’s unity and security than the Jews and, sometimes, Zionists. That represented a major departure from previous Egyptian Ramadan TV shows, which traded in negative tropes and stereotypes about Jews. — jta
Israel’s defense chief: Left-wing group’s questions to soldiers are ‘treason’
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the left-wing group Breaking the Silence was committing “treason” by questioning soldiers about classified security issues.
Yaalon made the statement to high school students in northern Israel on March 21, days after ordering an investigation into Breaking the Silence, which aims to expose alleged human rights violations and war crimes by Israeli troops.
He ordered the probe on March 18 following the airing by Israel’s Channel 2 of footage in which activists from Breaking the Silence were seen interviewing soldiers on classified tactical and operational procedures that did not appear to be directly connected to the group’s stated mission.
Breaking the Silence said it warns witnesses of disclosing classified information and said the questions are being asked to verify facts, according to Haaretz. — jta
Israeli extremist who wrote Jewish terrorist guide sentenced to 2 years
The 24-year-old Israeli who authored a how-to guide for Jewish extremists conducting anti-Arab terror attacks was sentenced to two years in jail.
The Rehovot Magistrates’ Court sentenced Moshe Auerbach on March 17 for writing “The Kingdom of Evil” handbook, the Israeli news site Walla reported. Auerback also received six months’ probation.
The handbook is believed to have been used by perpetrators of the fatal firebombing of a Palestinian home in July and the arson at a church on the Sea of Galilee in June.
“Kingdom of Evil” speaks of the “necessity” of attacking the property of non-Jews in Israel and provides detailed instructions for attacking mosques, churches and Palestinian homes, along with tips on how to beat Palestinians unconscious.
Auerbach was charged last month with sedition, incitement to violence and possession of racist materials. — jta
Palestinian teacher wins $1M prize for ‘No to Violence” efforts
A Palestinian teacher raised in a West Bank refugee camp was named Global Teacher of the Year and awarded a prize of $1 million for her work bringing dialogue and peaceful resolution practices to students who have been exposed to violence.
Hanan Al Hroub, who received the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize at a ceremony in Dubai on March 13, returned to the West Bank three days later for a Jericho reception in her honor, the Times of Israel reported.
According to the website of the Global Teacher Prize, a curriculum Al Hroub has developed called “No to Violence” has “led to a decline in violent behavior in schools where this is usually a frequent occurrence.” — jta