Neighborhood Index - Intergroup Relations in Jerusalem: Round 2, Winter 2025

In the shadow of war and political polarization, and alongside a rise in friction and violent incidents, neighborly relations in Jerusalem show surprising stability — even as residents report a significant decline in their sense of security and freedom of movement across the urban space.

Jerusalem is home to the five main identity groups that make up Israeli society: secular, traditional, religious, ultra-Orthodox, and Arab. As of 2023, approximately 60% of the city’s residents belong to the Jewish population and approximately 40% to the Arab population. Within the Jewish population, the ultra-Orthodox group is the largest (approximately 28.2% of city residents), followed by the religious group (14.4%), the secular group (9%), and the traditional group (7.2%) (2025 figures).

This unique demographic composition makes Jerusalem a city where intergroup relations largely shape daily life, the urban political arena, and decision-making processes. It was this complexity that led the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research to launch the “Neighborhood Index” in 2023, in collaboration with the Russell Berrie Foundation. The index enables multi-year monitoring of patterns of encounter, friction, and closeness between identity groups in the city, examining neighborhood relations through daily encounters, attitudes, feelings, and mutual perceptions — grounded in the understanding that in a mixed, heterogeneous city like Jerusalem, a stable urban routine depends heavily on the quality of relations between communities.

The index aims to provide a knowledge infrastructure to help local decision-makers, architects, urban planners, and civil society activists design strategies that strengthen intergroup relations, build shared life, and prevent future deterioration. The analysis draws on two survey waves: the first, conducted in summer 2023 against the backdrop of the constitutional crisis and intensifying political polarization, was analyzed in detail by Stern and Feibish (2024). The second wave, conducted in winter 2025 — roughly a year and a half after the events of October 7th, and amid an ongoing national crisis — allows for a comparative look at both waves, tracing shifts and continuities in neighborly relations. Examining these findings through spatial, social, and political lenses can help identify emerging trends and inform future policy planning.