Israel
(2004)
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, and government policy
continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion;
however, there were problems with regard to equal treatment of religious
minorities.
Relations among religious groups--between Jews and
non-Jews, between Muslims and Christians, and among the different streams
of Judaism--often were strained. Tensions between Israeli Jews and Arabs
increased significantly after the start of the Intifada in October 2000.
At that time, Israeli police killed 12 Israeli-Arab demonstrators, prompting
a 3-year public inquiry and investigation, the results of which were
still a matter of official deliberation and public debate at the end
of the period covered by this report. Tensions continued to remain high
due to the institutional, legal, and societal discrimination against
the country's Arab citizens.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues
with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography
Based on its pre-1967 borders, Israel has a total area
of approximately 7,685 square miles, and its population is approximately
6.7 million (including Israeli settlers who live in the occupied territories).
According to government figures, approximately 80 percent of the population
is Jewish, although some 300,000 of these citizens do not qualify as
Jews according to the Orthodox Jewish definition or that utilized by
the Government in civil procedures. According to government figures,
among the Jewish population, approximately 4.5 percent are Haredi, or
ultra-Orthodox, and another 13 percent are Orthodox. The vast majority
of Jewish citizens describe themselves as "traditional" or
"secular" Jews, and most of them observe some Jewish traditions.
A growing but still small number of traditional and secular Jews associate
themselves with the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist streams
of Judaism, which are not officially recognized. Although the Government
does not officially recognize them, these streams of Judaism receive
a small amount of government funding and are recognized by the country's
courts.
Approximately 20 percent of the population is non-Jewish.
Of this group, approximately 80 percent is Muslim, 10 percent Christian,
and 10 percent Druze. The country's non-Jewish population is concentrated
in the north of the country, in Bedouin communities in the Negev region
in the south, and in a narrow band of Arab villages in the central part
of the country adjacent to the occupied territories. There also are
small numbers of evangelical Christians and members of Jehovah's Witnesses.
The country's 250,000 guest workers are predominantly Roman Catholic,
Orthodox Christian, and Buddhist.
The Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty describes
the country as a "Jewish" and "democratic" state.
Most of the non-Jewish minority are Muslims, Druze, and Christians,
and they are generally free to practice their religions. Of this group,
most are Arabs and are subject to various forms of discrimination, some
of which have religious dimensions. Numerous religious groups are represented
in the country.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
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 state" but also provides for full social and political
equality regardless of religious affiliation. Furthermore, the law explicitly
guarantees freedom of religion and the safeguarding of "holy places
of all religions." Israeli Arabs and other non-Jews generally are
free to practice their religions; however, discrepancies exist in the
treatment of various non-Jewish communities in society. Due to the "status
quo" agreement reached at the founding of the state reflecting
the influence of Orthodox Jewish political parties, the Government implements
certain policies based on Orthodox Jewish interpretations of religious
law. For example, the Government does not recognize Jewish marriages
performed in the country other than those performed by the Orthodox
Jewish establishment. The Orthodox Jewish establishment determines who
can be buried in Jewish state cemeteries and limits that right to those
accepted as "Jewish" by orthodox definitions. In addition
the national airline El Al and public buses in most cities do not operate
on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, although some private bus companies
operate on the Sabbath. According to the law, Jews in most professions
may not work on the Sabbath. Additionally, streets in some Orthodox
Jewish neighborhoods are closed to vehicles on the Sabbath. In April
the High Court rejected a petition demanding that the Ministry of the
Interior enforce the prohibition on the open sale of bread during the
Passover holiday, but it did not rule on the legality of the prohibition.
This prohibition does not apply to non-Jewish areas, where bread can
be sold openly. In June 2003, the High Court suspended several municipal
prohibitions and curbs on the sale of pork and issued guidelines suggesting
that the sale of pork be allowed in neighborhoods where only a small
portion of the residents would object on religious grounds. The result
of the decision was to allow pork to be sold in those municipalities.
Israeli law recognizes the "religious communities"
as carried over from those recognized under the British Mandate. These
are: Eastern Orthodox, Latin (Roman Catholic), Gregorian-Armenian, Armenian-Catholic,
Syrian (Catholic), Chaldean (Uniate), Greek Catholic Melkite, Maronite,
Syrian Orthodox, and Jewish. Three additional religious communities
have subsequently been recognized–-the Druze, the Evangelical Episcopal
Church, and the Baha'i. The status of some Christian denominations with
representation in the country has been defined by a collection of ad
hoc arrangements with various government agencies. The fact that the
Muslim population was not defined as a religious community is a vestige
of the Ottoman period, during which Islam was the dominant religion,
and does not affect the rights of the Muslim community to practice their
faith. The Government allows members of unrecognized religions the freedom
to practice their religion. According to the Government, there were
no religious denominations awaiting recognition during the period covered
by this report.
Each recognized religious community has legal authority
over its members in matters of marriage and divorce. For so-called "unrecognized
religions," there were no local religious tribunals that had jurisdiction
over their members in matters of personal status. In addition unrecognized
religious communities would not receive government funding for their
religious services, as many of the recognized communities do. Also,
the Arrangements Law provides exemption from municipal taxes for any
synagogue, church, mosque, or place of worship of a recognized faith.
Finally, unrecognized religions have no religious tribunals with jurisdiction
over their members in matters of personal status. Legislation enacted
in 1961 afforded the Muslim courts exclusive jurisdiction to rule in
matters of personal status concerning Muslims. 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 for
some family status matters, such as alimony and child custody in divorces,
to be adjudicated in civil courts as an alternative to religious courts.
Christians may ask only that child custody and child support be adjudicated
in civil courts as an alternative to religious courts. Despite not having
legal recognition, since 2001 Muslims also have the right to bring matters
such as alimony and property division associated with divorce cases
to civil courts in family-status matters. However, paternity cases remain
under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Muslim or Shari'a Court.
In March the Ministry of Religious Affairs was officially
dismantled and its 300 employees reassigned to several other ministries.
The Ministry was disbanded based on a compromise agreement with the
Shinui party as part of its decision to join the Government. The Interior
Ministry now has jurisdiction over religious matters concerning non-Jewish
groups. The Prime Minister's office has jurisdiction over the nation's
137 religious councils, which oversee the provision of religious services.
The Ministry of Tourism is now responsible for the protection and upkeep
of all holy sites. The State continues to finance some 40 percent of
the councils' budgets, and local authorities fund the remainder. However,
an Arab advocacy group charged that, for the most part, the State did
not allocate adequate or proportional funds for the provision of religious
services in Arab towns and villages. According to the Government, however,
funding for religious services in Arab communities has been proportional
to the size of the community.
A reportedly small number of IDF soldiers killed in
action since September 2000 were Muslim, Druze, and Israeli Arab Christians.
After the family of one of the soldiers could not find a Muslim cleric
to perform his burial, public debate ensued over the fact that the IDF
does not employ a Muslim or a Christian chaplain. By the end of the
period covered by this report, the IDF had not designated a Muslim or
Christian cleric to serve as IDF chaplain. In 2003, an Israeli Christian
soldier was killed in a terrorist attack. According to the soldier's
family, the IDF did not have a military priest available to officiate
at their son's burial. The soldier was buried in a non-Jewish section
of the military cemetery in a nonreligious ceremony without a religious
figure to officiate. Muslim and Christian soldiers are allowed to take
home leave for all religious holidays.
Under the Law of Return, the Government grants automatic
citizenship and residence rights to Jewish immigrants and their families.
Based on a 2000 decision made by the Attorney General, residency rights
are not granted to relatives of converts to Judaism, except to children
of female converts who are born after the mother's conversion is complete.
The Law of Return does not apply to non-Jews or to persons of Jewish
descent who have converted to another faith. Approximately 36 percent
of the country's Jewish population was born outside of the country.
Until 2002 the Government designated "nationality" (i.e.,
Arab, Russian, or "Jew," etc.) on national identity documents.
Groups representing persons who consider themselves Jewish, but who
do not meet the Interior Ministry's criteria, have long sought either
a change in the rules or removal of the nationality designation from
identity cards, a move also supported by many Arab groups. In 2003,
the Government began issuing new identification cards that do not carry
a nationality designation to those seeking new or replacement national
identity documents. However, citizens are still required to register
as one of a set list of nationalities.
Under existing law, ultra-Orthodox Jews are entitled
to exemption from military service to pursue religious or yeshiva studies.
This exemption allows ultra-Orthodox Jews to postpone military service
to pursue religious studies at a recognized yeshiva in 1-year intervals.
Students must renew this postponement every year by proving that they
are still full-time students. At the age of 22, these yeshiva students
must determine within 1 year whether to continue to study full time
with yearly renewals until they reach the age of 40, to serve for 1
year in community service and thereafter perform community service for
21 days each year, or to serve in the army until they finish their military
service requirement. According to the Government, approximately 9 percent
of male candidates for military service are exempted under the clause
that allows them to declare they are full-time yeshiva students. In
February, due to political pressure from the secular Shinui party and
some sectors of society, the Government appointed a parliamentary committee
to propose ways to broaden IDF service to include yeshiva students and
to integrate ultra-Orthodox Jews into the workforce. At the end of the
period covered by this report, the committee had reached no conclusions
and continued to discuss this issue.
The Government funds both religious and secular schools,
including non-Jewish religious and secular schools. Some secular Jewish
schools have adopted a religious education program developed by the
non-Orthodox streams. According to Arab advocacy nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), schools in Arab areas, including Arab parochial schools, receive
significantly fewer resources than comparable Jewish schools.
The Government recognizes the following Jewish holy
days as national holidays: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shavuot,
Simhat Torah, and Passover. Arab municipalities often recognize Christian
and Muslim holidays.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
Orthodox Jewish, Muslim, and Christian religious authorities
have exclusive control over personal status matters, including marriage,
divorce, and burial, within their respective communities. The law does
not allow for civil marriage for any citizens, and it does not recognize
Jewish marriage performed in the country unless performed by recognized
Orthodox officials. Many Jewish citizens object to such exclusive control,
and it has at times been a source of serious controversy in society.
The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law protects holy
sites of all religions within Israel, and the penal code makes it a
criminal offense to damage any holy site. According to the Government,
there were no claims or reports of damage to holy sites within Israel
during the period covered by this report.
The Government permits religious organizations to apply
for funding to maintain or build holy sites, and funding has been provided
for the upkeep of holy sites such as mosques and cemeteries. Some civil
rights NGOs assert that Orthodox Jewish holy sites receive significantly
greater proportions of funding than do non-Orthodox Jewish and non-Jewish
holy sites. Muslim groups complain that the Government has not equitably
funded the construction and upkeep of mosques in comparison to the funding
of synagogues, and that it has been reluctant to refurbish mosques in
areas where there is no longer a Muslim population. Muslim residents
of the Be'er Sheva area, including Bedouin tribes, have protested the
municipality's intention to reopen the city's old mosque as a museum
rather than as a mosque to service the area's Muslim residents. According
to a media report, the High Court rejected a petition from representatives
of the area's Muslim community to enjoin the municipality from renovating
the mosque into a museum. The High Court noted that the renovation would
not harm the facility's design and would affect only the facade. The
petitioners argued that there were no alternative mosques in the Be'er
Sheva area.
Building codes for places of worship are enforced selectively
based on religion. Some Bedouins living in unrecognized villages were
denied building permits for construction of mosques. For example, in
2002 a local Bedouin began construction without a permit of a mosque
in the village of Tal el-Malah in the southern part of the country to
service the 1,500 residents who would otherwise need to travel more
than 12 kilometers to the nearest mosque. In February 2003, the Government
inspector warned the village that the building was illegal, and in May
2003 officials demolished the building. In contrast, according to a
Tel Aviv municipal council member, there are approximately 100 illegal
synagogues in Tel Aviv, some within apartment buildings and others in
separate structures.
A 1977 anti-proselytizing law prohibits any person
from offering or receiving material benefits as an inducement to conversion;
however, there were no reports of the law's enforcement during the period
covered by this report.
Missionaries are allowed to proselytize, although the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) voluntarily refrains
from proselytizing under a signed agreement with the Government.
Since 2000, the Government no longer requires Israeli
Muslims to obtain permission from the Interior Ministry to travel to
Saudi Arabia on the hajj. Since the country does not have diplomatic
relations with Saudi Arabia, Israeli Muslims must travel through another
country, usually Jordan, to obtain travel documents for Saudi Arabia.
The average number of pilgrims traveling from the country each year
is approximately 4,500. According to the Government, travel to hostile
countries may be restricted, including travel for the hajj; however,
these restrictions are based on security concerns rather than on any
religious or ethnic factors.
During the period covered by this report, many groups
and individuals of numerous religions traveled to the country freely;
there were no reports of persons being denied entry based on religious
grounds.
During the period covered by this report, the Government
refused to grant residence visas to some 130 Catholic clergy assigned
by the Vatican to fulfill religious obligations in Israel and the occupied
territories. According to church officials, this number represents a
60 percent increase over the previous year. The Interior Ministry appointed
a task force to resolve the issue and explained in the media that the
delay in issuing visas was mainly due to the examination by the Israel
Security Agency of certain applications for security purposes, thus
causing an application backlog. A church official also claimed that
security forces harassed several clergy. Also, during the period covered
by this report, a Greek Catholic pastor, Father Mamdouh Abu Sa'da, was
prevented from driving his car for several months from his residence
in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour to celebrate Mass in Jaffa, despite
the fact that he had been driving in the country during the past 7 years.
In January the Government recognized the duly elected
Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Eirinaios I, but this recognition was delayed
until March, when the High Court rejected a legal challenge against
the Government's decision. Eirinaios I was elected in 2001, but because
of the lack of recognition by the Government, he had been unable to
conclude financial or legal arrangements on behalf of the Patriarchate.
In 2002, the Israeli police confiscated the passport
of Archimandrite Attallah Hanna, an Israeli citizen and a priest with
the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, for allegedly visiting Lebanon, a country
considered hostile to Israel, without permission from the Interior Ministry
and for making public statements hostile toward Israel while in that
country. The case against Hanna was closed in January after Hanna signed
a declaration renouncing terrorism; however, Hanna was told he needed
to reapply for a new passport.
The Government discriminates against non-Jews, the
vast majority of which are Arabs, in the areas of employment, education,
and housing. The Orr Legal Commission of Inquiry, established to investigate
the 2000 police killing of 12 Israeli-Arab demonstrators, issued a final
report in September 2003 noting historical, societal, and governmental
discrimination against Arab citizens. In June the Government approved
an interministerial committee's proposals, which included the creation
of a government body to promote the Arab sector and a volunteer national
civilian service program for Arab youth. These proposals were approved
in attempt to address some of the Orr Commission's recommendations;
however, Israeli-Arab advocacy organizations continued to criticize
the Government for its failure after 4 years to indict any of the policemen
involved in the 2000 events and its continued neglect of other issues
of importance to the Israeli-Arab community, such as the just distribution
of resources.
In civic areas in which religion is a determining criterion,
such as the religious courts and centers of education, non-Orthodox
Jewish institutions routinely receive less state support than their
Orthodox Jewish counterparts. Additionally, National Religious (i.e.,
modern Orthodox, one of the country's official Jewish school systems)
and Christian parochial schools complain that they receive less funding
than public secular schools despite the fact that they voluntarily abide
by all national curricular standards. During the period covered by this
report, the two groups together took their case for equal funding to
the High Court. At the end of this period, there was no decision on
the case.
Government funding to the different religious sectors
is disproportionate to the sectors' sizes. Non-Orthodox streams of Judaism
and the non-Jewish sectors receive proportionally less funding than
the Orthodox Jewish sector. According to IRAC, the equivalent of less
than 1 percent of public funding for Jewish cultural activities is provided
to non-Orthodox or secular organizations, and over 99 percent of the
funding goes to Orthodox Jewish organizations. IRAC reports that government
funding has not gone into the construction of any non-Orthodox synagogues.
In 2003 the Supreme Court ruled that state funds could be used for the
construction of a reform synagogue in the city of Modi'in and referred
the petition to the Modi'in municipality for action. IRAC reports that
the city already has several Orthodox synagogues, but none that is conservative
or reform.
Government resources available to non-Orthodox Jewish
and Arab public schools are proportionately less than those available
to Orthodox Jewish public schools. According IRAC, about 96 percent
of state funds for religious education were allocated to Orthodox or
ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools. Children attending public non-Orthodox
Jewish schools do not receive instruction on Judaism, and the budget
for teaching Islam or Christianity in the Arab public school system
is disproportionately smaller. Quality private religious schools for
Israeli Arabs exist; however, parents often must pay tuition for their
children to attend such schools due to inadequate government funding.
Jewish private religious schools receive significant government funding
in addition to philanthropic contributions from within the country and
abroad, which effectively lowers the schools' tuition costs. Non-Jewish
Israelis are underrepresented in the student bodies and faculties of
most universities and in the higher level professional and business
ranks.
In 1998, the High Court of Justice ruled that the budget
allocation to the non-Jewish sector constituted "prima facie"
discrimination. In 2000, the same plaintiffs presented a case on the
specific needs of religious communities regarding burials. The court
agreed that non-Jewish cemeteries were receiving inadequate resources
and ordered the Government to increase funding to such cemeteries. The
Government began to implement this decision in 2001, although some groups
complained that implementation was too slow. According to the Government,
in 2003 approximately $1.7 million was allocated for Orthodox Jewish
Cemeteries, compared with approximately $200,000 for civil cemeteries.
The Jewish National Fund (JNF) owns approximately 8
percent of the country's land area and manages another 8 percent on
behalf of the Government. The JNF's charter prohibits it from leasing
land to non-Jews. The Jewish Agency, an organization that promotes Jewish
immigration to the country and develops housing communities, as a matter
of policy does not lease land to non-Jews. In 2000, the High Court ruled
that the State may not allocate land directly to its citizens on the
basis of religion or nationality, even if it allocates the land through
a third party such as the Jewish Agency. The Court's decision applies
to any third party that has such restrictions on the leasing or sale
of land based on nationality, religion, or any other discriminatory
means.
Secular courts have primacy over questions of inheritance,
but by mutual agreement, parties may bring inheritance cases to religious
courts. Jewish and Druze families may ask that some family status matters,
such as alimony and child custody, be adjudicated in civil courts as
an alternative to religious courts. Christians may ask that child custody
and child support cases be adjudicated in civil courts as an alternative
to religious courts. Since 2001, Muslims have had the right to bring
matters such as alimony and property division associated with divorce
cases to civil courts in family status cases. However, paternity cases
involving Muslims are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Muslim
or Shari'a court.
Jewish citizens who wish to marry in secular or non-Orthodox
religious ceremonies, citizens not officially recognized as Jewish by
the Orthodox Jewish establishment, and those who wish to marry someone
of another faith must do so abroad. The Ministry of Interior recognizes
such marriages. According to media reports, an average of 5,000 couples
travel abroad annually to be married in civil ceremonies, mostly in
Cyprus. Others hold weddings unrecognized by the Government, including
Kibbutz, Reform, and Conservative weddings. In March a majority of the
Knesset (parliament) voted against two bills that would have allowed
for civil marriage.
The State also does not recognize conversions to Judaism
performed in the country by non-Orthodox rabbis. The High Court allowed
this practice to stand when it avoided ruling on this issue in May;
however, the court ruled that non-Jews who move to the country and then
convert in the country through an Orthodox conversion are eligible to
become immigrants pursuant to the Law of Return. Previously, only persons
who converted through an Orthodox conversion abroad were entitled to
immigrate to the country based on that law.
Many Jewish citizens object to the exclusive authority
of the Orthodox establishment over personal status issues for Jews,
and it has been at times a source of serious controversy in society,
particularly in recent years, because some 300,000 immigrants from the
former Soviet Union have not been recognized as Jewish by Orthodox authorities.
Aside from the ability to marry, this affects whether an individual
is entitled to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. The 1996 Alternative
Burial Law established the individual right to be buried in an alternative,
civil cemetery and called for establishment of these cemeteries throughout
the country. However, at the end of the period covered by this report,
only one public civil cemetery had been established in the country.
Some domestic civil rights and immigrant groups assert that the Government
has not allocated adequate space or sufficient funds for the development
of alternative burial sites.
The Shinui Party, which ran on a platform of ending
much of the Orthodox establishment's exclusive power, remained part
of the governing coalition formed in early 2003 and retained control
over the Ministries of Interior and Justice. Shinui leaders have stated
that the party plans significant reforms to personal status and other
questions handled by the ministries under its purview.
Under the Jewish religious courts' interpretation of
personal status law, a Jewish woman may not receive a final writ of
divorce without her husband's consent. Consequently, thousands of women,
so-called "agunot," are unable to remarry or have legitimate
children because their husbands either have disappeared or refused to
grant a divorce.
Rabbinical tribunals have the authority to impose sanctions
on husbands who refuse to divorce their wives or on wives who refuse
to accept a divorce from their husbands. At least one man, a U.S. citizen,
had been in jail for over 2 years because he refused to grant his wife
a writ of divorce. He was released approximately 1 year ago. In some
cases, rabbinical courts have failed to invoke sanctions. In May, a
rabbinical court decided for the first time to jail a woman who refused
to accept a divorce from her husband. Rabbinical courts also may exercise
jurisdiction over, and issue sanctions against, non-Israeli persons
present in the country.
Some Islamic law courts have held that Muslim women
may not request a divorce, but that women may be forced to consent if
a divorce is granted to the husband.
Members of unrecognized religious groups (particularly
evangelical Christians) sometimes also face the same problems obtaining
marriage certificates or burial services as do citizens not considered
Jewish by the Orthodox establishment. However, informal arrangements
with other recognized religious groups provide relief in some cases.
In 2003, the Women of the Wall, a group of more than
100 Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform women, lost their 14-year legal
battle to hold formal women's prayer services at the Western Wall. The
High Court ruled that the group could not hold prayer services at the
Western Wall and instead would be permitted to hold them at nearby Robinson's
Arch. According to IRAC, the Government has yet to finish renovating
that area to allow these women to hold prayers there. Most Orthodox
Jews believe that mixed gender prayer services violate the precepts
of Judaism, and Jews still are unable to hold mixed gender prayer services
at the Western Wall. Women also are not allowed to conduct any formal
or informal prayer at the Western Wall wearing prayer shawls, which
are typically worn by men, and cannot read from Torah scrolls.
In December 2003, IRAC petitioned the Supreme Court
to overturn the government practice whereby the Adoption Service of
the Ministry of Social Affairs places Israeli non-Jewish children only
in Orthodox Jewish homes. Pursuant to law, the adopted child must be
of the same religion as the adopting parents. Since conversions to non-Orthodox
forms of Judaism are not recognized in the country, the Government argued
that by placing these children with Orthodox parents, the children would
not face any limbo periods during which their conversions could be questioned.
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion,
including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally
removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens
to be returned to the United States.
Abuses by Terrorist Organizations
Palestinian terrorist organizations, including Hamas,
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, committed acts
of terror against Israelis during the period covered by this report.
These attacks included an August 2003 attack by Hamas that killed 23
persons and injured over 130, an October 2003 attack by the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad that killed 21 persons and injured 60, and a March attack
by Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade that killed 10 persons and
injured 16. These groups also issued anti-Semitic statements following
these attacks.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
Relations among different religious groups--between
Jews and non-Jews, between Christians and Muslims, and among the different
streams of Judaism--often are strained. Tensions between Jews and non-Jews
are the result of historical grievances as well as cultural and religious
differences, and they are compounded by governmental and societal discrimination
against Israeli-Arabs. These tensions have been heightened by the Arab-Israeli
conflict, manifested by terrorist attacks mostly against Israeli Jews,
IDF operations in the occupied territories, incidents of Jewish militants
targeting Israeli Arabs, and incidents of Israeli-Arab involvement in
terrorist activity.
According to a University of Haifa survey released
in June, approximately 64 percent of the Jewish public believes the
Government should encourage Israeli Arabs to emigrate from the country,
with 55 percent believing that Israeli Arabs present a threat to national
security. Similar surveys also have revealed a continuing increase in
distrust between Israeli Jews and Arabs.
A number of NGOs exist that are dedicated to promoting
Jewish-Arab coexistence in the country. Their programs include events
to increase Jewish-Arab dialogue and cooperation. These groups and events
have had varying degrees of success. Interfaith dialogue often is linked
to the peace process between the country and its Arab neighbors. In
January Canon Andrew White, the Archbishop of Canterbury's Special Representative
to the Alexandria Peace Process, convened approximately 30 high-level
Palestinian religious leaders and Israeli religious representatives
in Cairo to discuss advancing the Alexandria Interfaith Peace Process,
which was initiated in 2002 at an interfaith summit in Egypt.
Animosity between secular and religious Jews continued
during the period covered by this report. Non-Orthodox Jews have complained
of discrimination and intolerance on the part of members of ultra-Orthodox
Jewish groups. Persons who consider themselves Jewish but who are not
considered Jewish under Orthodox law particularly complained of discrimination.
During the period covered by this report, there were reported incidents
in Jerusalem in which ultra-Orthodox Jews threw rocks at passing motorists
to protest that they were driving on the Sabbath.
Numerous NGOs exist that seek to build understanding
and create dialogue between religious groups and between religious and
secular Jewish communities. These NGOs include the Gesher Foundation
(Hebrew for "bridge"); Meitarim, which operates a pluralistic
Jewish-oriented school system; and the Interreligious Coordinating Council
in Israel, which promotes interfaith dialogue with Jewish, Muslim, and
Christian institutions.
Throughout society attitudes toward missionary activities
and conversion generally are negative. Many Jews are opposed to missionary
activity directed at Jews, and some are hostile toward Jewish converts
to Christianity. Christian and Muslim Israeli-Arab religious leaders
complain that missionary activity that leads to conversions frequently
disrupts family coherence in their communities.
During the period covered by this report, mainstream
newspapers periodically criticized the country's ultra-Orthodox or "Haredi"
community for yeshiva students' exemption from military service and
the Government's provision of living allowances to these students in
lieu of their working. In February, due to political and societal pressures,
the Government appointed a parliamentary committee to investigate ways
to broaden military service to include yeshiva students. At the end
of the period covered by this report, the committee was working on a
compromise measure to address this issue.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues
with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
The U.S. Embassy consistently raised issues of religious freedom with
the Foreign Ministry, the police, the Prime Minister's office, and other
government agencies. In meetings with government officials, the Embassy
and U.S. State Department officials in Washington continued to raise
concern about the denial of some U.S. citizens' entry into the country
based on ethnic and religious background.
Embassy representatives, including the Ambassador,
routinely meet with religious officials. These contacts include meetings
with Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze, and Baha'i leaders at a variety
of levels. In August 2003, Embassy officials met with a group of Knesset
members from the secular Shinui party to discuss issues of concern to
more-secular Israelis, including the issue of Orthodox Jewish religious
control over marriages and burials.
In November 2003, the Embassy hosted an Iftaar dinner
to commemorate the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, inviting over 80 Israeli
Muslim representatives from the political, economic, legal, religious,
and business communities, and also representatives of interfaith organizations.
The dinner promoted understanding and cooperation between Jews, Muslims,
and Christians and enhanced U.S. understanding of issues affecting these
religious communities in the country.
In March the Ambassador met with Lord Carey of Clifton,
the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who played a vital role in the
Alexandria Declaration of 2002 and the "Alexandria Process"
that has followed. Lord Carey, accompanied by a representative of the
Archbishop of Canterbury and a senior delegation of Christian leaders
from the United States, discussed with Embassy officials and Israeli,
Palestinian, and international figures ways to promote the implementation
of the commitments senior Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders had
made in Alexandria to reduce violence, teach tolerance in religious
educational settings, and promote interfaith dialogue in support of
the peace process.
Embassy officials maintain a dialogue with NGOs that
follow human and civil rights issues, including religious freedom. These
NGOs include the Arab Association for Human Rights, the Mossawa Advocacy
Center for Arab Citizens in Israel, the Association for Civil Rights
in Israel, the Israel Religious Action Center, Adalah, and others. In
April the Embassy met with the director of the Arab Association for
Human Rights to discuss issues of concern to the Israeli-Arab community,
including societal tensions between Arabs and Jews in the country.
Embassy representatives attended and spoke at meetings
of groups seeking to promote interfaith dialogue and tolerance and also
met with Israeli-Arab organizations, including Adalah and the Islamic
Movement-Northern Branch, to discuss religious freedom issues. The Embassy
provided small grants to local organizations promoting interfaith dialogue
and coexistence and to organizations examining the role of religion
in resolving conflict.
Sources: U.S. State Department - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |