For the first time in years Tel Aviv has been knocked down off the top spot in the ranking of Israel's most liberal cities, according to a report published Sunday.
The report by the religious pluralism group Israel Hofsheet, or Israel Be Free, ranked the city of Givatayim as the "freest" city in Israel in 2021, effectively dethroning its neighbor, which just last month was crowned as "the costliest city in the world."
This is the fourth year the group has ranked 24 of the largest Israeli cities according to their attitudes about 10 social and religious questions, including: the supervision of religious organizations; exclusion of women from public space; attitude towards LGBTQ community; freedom of trade and public transportation on Shabbat; possibility of civil marriage; and the quality of religious services as well as the examination of religious pluralism.
The ranking was based on data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the Interior Ministry, and other public and government data sources. In total, 31 cities and municipalities were examined and rated.
This year, Tel Aviv - which in 2020 shared first place along with Herzliya - was ranked second with 75%, the third place was given to Kfar Saba, followed by Rishon LeZion, and Herzliya which came only fifth with 67%.
On the other end, Bnei Brak, Modi'in Illit, Beit Shemesh and Ramla were ranked as the most conservatives, with the Haredi Jewish-Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit taking the final spot, with an overall rating of 0%, which means it is the most illiberal city in Israel.
In total, the overall average of the liberal index is 38.8% in each of the selected cities and municipalities, compared to 42.7% last year.