Israel
(2000)
Israel has no constitution; however, the law provides
for freedom of worship, and the Government generally respects this right in
practice.
There was no change in the status of respect for
religious freedom during the period covered by this report.
The Declaration of Independence describes the country as
a "Jewish and democratic state." The overwhelming majority of
non-Jewish citizens are Arabs and they are subject to various forms of
discrimination. It is not clear that whatever discrepancies exist in the
treatment of various communities in Israeli society are based on religion
per se.
In June 2000, the Government proposed a plan to help
redress some of the gaps in government spending for Arab communities. In
March 2000, the High Court of Justice ruled that the Government's use of
the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to develop public land was discriminatory,
as the JNF's by-laws prohibit sale or lease of land to non-Jews.
Evangelical Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Reform and Conservative
Jews suffered some incidents of harassment, threats, and vandalism during
the period covered by the report; members of these religious groups
complained that the police were slow to investigate these incidents.
Relations between different religious groups often are strained, both
between Jews and non-Jews, as well as among the different branches of
Judaism.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom with the
Government in the context of its overall dialog and policy of promoting
human rights.
Section I. Government Policies on Freedom of Religion
Legal/Policy Framework
Israel has no constitution; however, the law provides
for freedom of worship, and the Government generally respects this right in
practice. The Declaration of Independence describes the country as a
"Jewish and democratic state."
The Government recognizes religious groups that were in
the country before 1948. The Government recognizes 5 religious groups,
including 10 Christian groups.
Religious Demography
Approximately 80 percent of citizens are Jewish (a
significant majority are non-Orthodox), approximately 16 percent are
Muslims, 2 percent are Christians, and 1.5 percent are Druze. The
non-Jewish population is concentrated in the north, east-central, and
southern parts of the country. The population includes small but growing
numbers of adherents of nonrecognized evangelical Christian groups and
members of other faiths, such as Jehovah's Witnesses.
Governmental Restrictions on Religious Freedom
The overwhelming majority of non-Jewish citizens are
Arabs and they are subject to various forms of discrimination. It is not
clear that whatever discrepancies exist in the treatment of various
communities in Israeli society are based on religion per se. Israeli Arabs
and other non-Jewish Israelis are, in fact, free to practice their
religions.
The Government does not provide Israeli Arabs, who
constitute 20 percent of the population, with the same quality of
education, housing, employment opportunities, and social services as Jews.
In addition, government spending and financial support are proportionally
far lower in predominantly non-Jewish areas than in Jewish areas. According
to the press, an Interior Ministry report released during 1998 noted that
non-Jewish communities receive significantly less government financial
support than their Jewish counterparts. According to several Arab
nongovernmental organizations (NGO's), recent government budget cuts fell
disproportionately on Arab communities. In June 2000, the Government
proposed a plan to narrow some of these gaps; however, this plan was not
implemented by mid-2000. Israeli-Arab organizations have challenged the
Government's "Master Plan for the Northern Areas of Israel,"
which listed as priority goals increasing the Galilee's Jewish population
and blocking the territorial contiguity of Arab villages and towns, on the
grounds that it discriminates against Arab citizens.
The Government provides proportionally greater financial
support to religious and civic institutions in the Jewish sector compared
with those in the non-Jewish sector, i.e., Muslim, Christian, and Druze.
For example, only 2 percent of the Ministry of Religious Affairs budget
goes to the non-Jewish sector. The High Court of Justice heard a case in
1997 alleging that this budgetary allocation constitutes discrimination. In
1998 the Court ruled that the budget allocation constituted "prima
facie discrimination" but that the plaintiff's petition did not
provide adequate information about the religious needs of the various
communities. The Court refused to intervene in the budgetary process on the
grounds that such action would invade the proper sphere of the legislature.
Each recognized religious community has legal authority
over its members in matters of marriage and divorce. Secular courts have
primacy over questions of inheritance, but parties, by mutual agreement,
may bring cases to religious courts. Jewish and Druze families may ask that
some family status matters, such as alimony and child custody in divorces,
be adjudicated in civil courts as an alternative to religious courts.
Christians may only ask that child custody and child support be adjudicated
in civil courts as an alternative to religious courts. Muslims have no
recourse to civil courts in family-status matters. Legislation passed in
1996 allows the rabbinical courts to sanction either party who is not
willing to grant a divorce.
In civic areas where religion is a determining
criterion, such as the religious courts and centers of education,
non-Jewish institutions routinely receive less state support than their
Jewish counterparts. The status of a number of Christian organizations with
representation in Israel heretofore has been defined by a collection of ad
hoc arrangements with various government agencies. Several of these
organizations seek to negotiate with the Government in an attempt to
formalize their status.
Other examples of discrimination against non-Jewish
citizens are not directly related to freedom to worship. There were some
areas of improvement. For example, in March 2000, the High Court of Justice
ruled that the Government could neither allocate land on the basis of
religion or nationality, nor allocate land to the quasi-governmental Jewish
National Fund, since the by-laws of the organization prohibit sale or lease
of land to non-Jews. The effect of this ruling, and other decisions made by
the current Government to lessen discrimination against non-Jews, remains
unclear.
The Government has recognized Jewish holy places under
the 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law. The Government states that it also
protects the holy sites of other faiths. The Government also states that it
has provided funds for some holy sites of other faiths.
Missionaries are allowed to proselytize, although the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints voluntarily refrains from
proselytizing under an agreement with the Government. A 1977
antiproselytizing law prohibits anyone from offering or receiving material
benefits as an inducement to conversion; there have been no reports of its
enforcement. Bills that would have restricted proselytizing further were
introduced and passed their preliminary readings in 1997 and 1998 with the
support of some government ministers; however, no further action was taken
before the dissolution of the Knesset following the May 1999 elections.
They are not expected to be enacted if reintroduced in the Knesset.
Christian and other evangelical groups asserted that the draft bills were
discriminatory and served to intimidate Christian groups.
The Government confers automatic citizenship and
residence rights to Jewish immigrants, their families, and Jewish refugees
under the Law of Return. This law does not apply to non-Jews or to persons
of Jewish descent who have converted to another faith.
The Government designates religion on national identity
documents, but not on passports.
Orthodox Jewish religious authorities have exclusive
control of Jewish marriages, divorces, and burials. They do not recognize
marriages or conversions to Judaism performed in Israel by non-Orthodox
rabbis. Many Jews object to this exclusive control, and it has been at
times a source of serious controversy in society, particularly in recent
years, as thousands of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union have
brought with them family members not recognized as Jewish by Orthodox
authorities. Many Jews who wish to marry in secular or non-Orthodox
religious ceremonies do so abroad, and the Ministry of Interior recognizes
such marriages.
Under the Government's current interpretation and
implementation of Jewish personal status law, a Jewish woman is not allowed
to initiate divorce proceedings without her husband's consent; consequently
there are hundreds of so-called "agunot" in the country who
cannot remarry or have legitimate children because their husbands either
have disappeared or refused to grant a divorce. This issue does not affect
citizens' right to worship.
Some rabbis are actively seeking a solution that is
consistent with Jewish law. Legislation passed in 1995 broadened the civil
sanctions made available to rabbinical courts in cases where a wife has
ample grounds for divorce -- such as abuse -- but the husband refuses to
agree. However, in some cases rabbinical courts have failed to invoke these
sanctions.
Members of nonrecognized religions (particularly
evangelical Christians) suffer difficulties conducting marriages and
funerals, although informal arrangements provide some relief.
A group of more than 100 Orthodox, Conservative, and
Reform women continued a long legal battle to hold women's prayer services
at the Western Wall during the period covered by this report; in May 2000,
the High Court ruled that women may pray aloud and wear prayer shawls at
the Western Wall. Both legislators and the State Prosecutor's office sought
to overturn the ruling; however, they were not successful as of mid-2000.
The Government generally continued to permit Muslim
citizens to make the Hajj during the period covered by this report.
However, for security reasons, the Government imposes some restrictions on
its Muslim citizens who perform the Hajj, including requiring that they be
over the age of 30. The Government does not allow them to return if they
leave the country without formal permission. The Government justifies these
restrictions on the grounds that Saudi Arabia remains officially at war
with Israel and that travel to Saudi Arabia therefore is considered subject
to security considerations.
Evangelical Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Reform
and Conservative Jews complained of inadequate or slow police response to
incidents of harassment, assaults, theft, and vandalism during the period
covered by this report (also see Section II).
There were no prosecutions of the over 120 cases filed
by Jehovah's Witnesses in 1998 and 1999. Police arrested several members of
Jehovah's Witnesses for questioning on the basis of complaints by members
of ultra-orthodox groups during the period covered by the report.
There was no change in the status of respect for
religious freedom during the period covered by this report.
There were no reports of religious detainees or
prisoners.
Forced Religious Conversion of Minor U.S. Citizens
There were no reports of the forced religious conversion
of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the
United States, or of the Government's refusal to allow such citizens to be
returned to the United States.
Section II. Societal Attitudes
Relations between different religious groups often are
strained, both between Jews and non-Jews, as well as among the different
branches of Judaism. Tensions between Jews and non-Jews exist primarily as
a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as Israel's control of
access to sites holy to Christians and Muslims. Friction between Christians
and Muslims in the Arab community increased during the period covered by
this report, primarily as a result of a dispute about a plot of land
alleged to belong to the Waqf (Islamic religious trust) in Nazareth. The
Government took steps to resolve this dispute with only partial success.
Animosity between secular and religious Jews continued to grow during the
period covered by this report. Non-Orthodox Jews have complained of
discrimination and intolerance.
There are numerous nongovernmental organizations working
on dialog between different religions. Interfaith dialog often is linked to
the peace process between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Societal attitudes towards conversion are particularly
negative. Religious and lay leaders of most religions largely are hostile
to missionary activity. Muslims consider any conversion from Islam to be
apostasy.
Harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses declined; however,
members of this group continued to complain of inadequate police efforts to
investigate outstanding complaints of harassment, assault, theft, and
vandalism, reportedly by two ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups, Yad L'achim and
Lev L'achim. Ultra-Orthodox groups sought unsuccessfully to convince a
company to fire an employee who is a member of Jehovah's Witnesses during
the period covered by this report. Evangelical Christian and other
religious groups suffered some incidents of often-violent harassment (also
see Section I). In June 2000, a meeting hall used by evangelical Christians
(who describe themselves as "Messianic Jews") reportedly was
vandalized by members of an ultra-Orthodox group. Such incidents are not
limited to non-Jews. Instances of ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups verbally or
physically harassing Jewish citizens for "immodest dress" or
other violations of their interpretation of religious law are not uncommon
and increased during the period covered by this report.
In July 1999, the Baptist House Center in Jerusalem was
vandalized by unknown assailants who spread tar on the front and along the
sides of the building, as well as defacing the entrance to the sanctuary.
In September 1999, Kol Israel, a state radio station,
agreed for the first time to broadcast advertisements paid for by the
Reform and Conservative branches of Judaism in response to a Supreme Court
petition.
Relative to their numbers, Israeli Arabs are
underrepresented in the student bodies and faculties of most universities,
and in higher-level professional and business ranks. Well-educated Arabs
often are unable to find jobs commensurate with their level of education.
Arab Ph.D.'s suffer the greatest problems in this regard. A small number of
Israeli Arabs have risen to responsible positions in the civil service,
generally in the Arab departments of government ministries. In 1994 a civil
service commission began a 3-year affirmative action program to expand that
number, but it had only modest results. The Government has allocated only
very limited resources to enforce landmark 1995 legislation prohibiting
discrimination in employment.
In practice Israeli Arab citizens who do not serve in
the military and therefore cannot obtain security clearances are not
allowed to work in companies with defense contracts or in security-related
fields. The Israeli Druze and Circassian communities are subject to the
military draft, and although some have refused to serve, the overwhelming
majority accept service willingly. Some Bedouin and other Arab citizens who
are not subject to the draft serve voluntarily. Those not subject to the
draft have less access than other citizens to those social and economic
benefits for which military service is a prerequisite or an advantage, such
as housing, new-household subsidies, and government or security-related
industrial employment. Under a 1994 government policy decision, the social
security child allowance for parents who did not serve in the military and
did not attend a yeshiva (including Arabs) was increased to equal the
allowance of those who had done so.
Israeli Arab groups allege that many employers use the
prerequisite of military service to avoid hiring non-Jews. For example, in
1997 a Haifa employment agency advertised for Arabic-speaking telephone
operators and listed military service as a prerequisite. An Israeli Arab
group noted that there was no clear justification for this requirement and
threatened to file a civil suit under a law prohibiting employment
discrimination and defining requirements unrelated to actual work as
discriminatory. The employment agency eventually agreed to change the
advertisement and run it again.
Arab children make up about one-quarter of the public
school population, but government resources for them are not proportionate
to those for Jewish children. Many schools in Arab communities are
dilapidated and overcrowded, lack special education services and
counselors, have poor libraries, and have no sports facilities. Arab groups
also note that the public school curriculum stresses the country's Jewish
culture and heritage.
Section III. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Embassy consistently raised issues of religious
freedom with the Government at working levels with the Foreign Ministry,
the police, and the Prime Minister's office. These contacts focused
particularly on complaints from Jehovah's Witnesses about poor police
response to incidents of violent harassment and dealt with specific
incidents as well as the general problem of insufficient police response.
In December 1999, Robert Seiple, Ambassador-at-Large for International
Religious Freedom, met with government officials, religious leaders, and
NGO representatives to discuss a number of religious freedom issues.
Embassy representatives, including the Ambassador,
routinely meet with religious officials. These contacts included meetings
with Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Baha'i leaders at a variety of levels.
Embassy officials maintain a dialog with nongovernmental
organizations that follow human and civil rights issues, including
religious freedom. These included the Association for Civil Rights in
Israel, the Israel Religious Action Center, Adalah, and many others.
Embassy representatives attended meetings of groups
seeking to promote interfaith dialog, including the Interreligious
Coordinating Council in Israel, the Anti-Defamation League, and others.
Sources: U.S. State Department - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |