TABLET MAG
Hashem Is Headlining
Dana Kessler
February 11, 2026

…Since Oct. 7, what was once a minor trend has become a flood. According to a special report on the war’s effect on religiosity (emphasizing youth up to age 25) published in November 2025 by the Jewish People Policy Institute, many Israelis report increased observance of tradition since the onset of the war. A quarter of Jewish Israelis say they are more tradition-observant than in the past; the share is higher among young people…Much of this is driven by the continually increasing influence of the Mizrahim (Israelis originating from Jewish communities that lived in Muslim and Arab countries). Many of them come from traditional households that are secular but hold on to various religious practices, such as keeping kosher or observing Shabbat, as tradition. In many of these families, the grandparents were religious, the parents became secular while still observing tradition, and now the young generation is rediscovering religion and finding new meaning in their parents’ traditions. READ MORE