Nearly half of Israelis surveyed said Israel’s Chief Rabbinate should officially recognize Reform and Conservative Judaism.

In the poll of 500 adults, 49 per cent “strongly feel that the Chief Rabbinate should officially recognize the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism,” Walla.com reported, because this “will in turn strengthen the connection with American Jews.”

The poll, published March 27, was commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation and conducted by Teleseker polling. It focused on how Israelis perceive the relationship between their countrymen and state institutions and U.S. Jews.

Asked about whether the views of American Jews on the peace process should be taken into account, 30 per cent of respondents said “to some extent,” 22 per cent said “to a great extent” and 18 per cent said “not at all.”

Thirty-one per cent of respondents said that Diaspora Jews should not be represented in the Knesset while 29 per cent said Diaspora Jews should be represented “to some extent.”

The survey was conducted ahead of a trip to New York and Boston that the Ruderman Family Foundation is organizing for six Knesset members to learn more about U.S. Jewry.