The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) today condemned a report issued by the U.S. Department of State that criticizes the State of Israel for alleged religious discrimination against non-Jews and non-Orthodox Jews. The Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor set forth numerous criticisms of Israel’s practices in its 2010 International Religious Freedom Report, in a section entitled “Israel and the Occupied Territories.”
“Although Israel was established as a Jewish State in 1948, it has spent the past six decades actively encouraging and facilitating freedom of religion for all of its citizens,” said NCYI President Shlomo Z. Mostofsky. “Equating Israel, the United States’ sole democratic ally in the Middle East region, with rogue nations that actively suppress the free exercise of religion is unjust and uncalled for.”
While specifically referencing Israel, the report states that, “government policy contributed to the generally free practice of religion, although governmental and legal discrimination against non-Jews and non-Orthodox streams of Judaism continued.”
“The Israeli courts have consistently focused on the importance of protecting freedom of religion for its citizenry, and those guiding principles have resulted in a national environment that fosters such basic liberties which are enjoyed by everyone, irrespective of their religious beliefs,” said Mostofsky. “Despite constant security concerns that warrant the implementation of certain protective measures in order to properly protect the public, Israel continues to provide unfettered access to holy sites of all religions, and the religious beliefs of Christians, Muslims, and Jews are not encumbered in any way. Israel should be commended for its high level of religious tolerance, not condemned.”
Mostofsky also questioned the logic of the United States criticizing Israel’s practices at a time when the American government is actively soliciting Israel’s assistance in peace talks in the Middle East region.
“The United States has publicly reprimanded Israel for unveiling plans to build much-needed housing units because of fear that it would negatively impact possible peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, yet, at the same time, the U.S. State Department has no qualms about wrongly censuring Israel when it comes to alleged fallacies in the level of its religious tolerance,” said Mostofsky. “The United States cannot reasonably expect Israel to accede to its every demand if it is going to weaken the American-Israeli bond with baseless allegations that undermine the Israeli government and undercut the religious tolerance that it works diligently to promote.”
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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7 Responses
The State Department report is accurate and Mostofsky is wrong. There are numerous examples of where Israeli law provides for preferential treatment of Jews, and where it attempts to coerce religious observance.
Excerpts from the report:
“government policy contributed to the generally free practice of religion, although governmental and legal discrimination against non-Jews and non-Orthodox streams of Judaism continued.”
‘Government allocations of state resources favored Orthodox (including Modern and National Religious streams of Orthodoxy) and ultra-Orthodox (sometimes referred to as “Haredi”) Jewish religious groups and institutions, discriminating against non-Jews and non-Orthodox streams of Judaism.’
“Some individuals and groups committed discriminatory practices against Israeli-Arab Muslims, evangelical Christians, and Messianic Jews”
“Both recognized and unrecognized religious communities complained of difficulties receiving clergy visas for their representatives.”
“Since personal status matters for Jews are controlled by the chief rabbinate, which does not recognize non-Orthodox converts to Judaism as Jews, these converts cannot marry, divorce, or be buried in the country. The government provides funds for Orthodox conversion programs but does not provide support for non-Orthodox (Reform and Conservative) programs.”
‘Since 2009 signs posted around the Western Wall plaza now request that gender segregation be enforced throughout the plaza, rather than just at the prayer areas. Ultra-Orthodox “modesty patrols” attempted to enforce gender separation and a path designated for “men only” was installed opposite the Western Wall. Mixed-gender ceremonies have been banned in the Western Wall plaza.’
“Government resources available for religious/heritage studies to Arab and non-Orthodox Jewish public schools were significantly less than those available to Orthodox Jewish public schools. Public and private Arab schools offered studies in both Islam and Christianity, but state funding for such studies was proportionately less than the funding for religious education courses in Jewish schools.”
“Jewish rabbinical courts do not have the authority to arbitrate in any financial dispute. Although the rabbinical courts have ruled on financial matters since before the establishment of the state, it was done in the framework of arbitration and not as part of their legal jurisdiction on these matters. No religious group possesses legal jurisdiction over financial matters.”
“During the year the MOI refused to renew religious visas for the Foursquare denomination’s primary representative and for the director of the Garden Tomb, a major Protestant pilgrimage site in Jerusalem. Despite MFA approvals in both cases, the MOI denied visa renewal to these individuals simply due to the length of time they had lived in the country, although no such regulation regarding period of residence existed.”
“On November 18, 2009, Israeli police temporarily detained a woman because she donned a Jewish talith (prayer shawl) during a ceremony in the traditional women’s prayer area, rather than in the designated area.”
I suspect that Mr. Mostofsky along with most YWN readers actually support most if not all of the policies criticized in the State Department report.
Mr. Mostofsky is also incorrect when he says “Equating Israel, the United States’ sole democratic ally in the Middle East region, with rogue nations that actively suppress the free exercise of religion is unjust and uncalled for.” He didn’t bother to read the reports on countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia — or else he is lying deliberately. For example, on Iran:
“During the reporting period, government respect for religious freedom in the country continued to deteriorate. Government rhetoric and actions created a threatening atmosphere for nearly all non-Shi’a religious groups, most notably for Baha’is, as well as Sufi Muslims, evangelical Christians, members of the Jewish community, and Shi’a groups that do not share the government’s official religious views. Reports of government imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on religious beliefs continued during the reporting period. Baha’i religious groups reported arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention, expulsions from universities, and confiscation of property. During the reporting period government-controlled broadcast and print media intensified negative campaigns against religious minorities, particularly the Baha’is. All non-Shi’a religious minorities suffered varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education, and housing.”
To CharLIEhall (Commenter 1 & 2; KiShmo Kein Hu: Sheker is his middle name):
As others have said, the big LIE — when said often enough and elaborately enough (as in your comments and those of the State Department)…
The fact is that the State Department has always had a pro-Arab/Moslem bias; especially now, when it is headed by Arafat-kisser Hillary, who is no longer accountable to the voters.
Where is the part about Israeli forces physically preventing particularly Orthodox Jews from
[A] worshiping at Judaism’s holiest religious site?
[B] visiting the graves of the Jewish peoples’ forefathers?
[C] settling the land of Israel?
The Israeli government preserved these basic Jewish rights exclusively for Muslims and others who are specifically not Orthodox Jews.
The Department of State is abysmally confused in its assessment that Israel is officially pro-Orthodox Judaism, and improperly biased due to its erroneous apparent presumption that Israel was established for the purpose of copying American multi-culturalism. America the “melting pot” has a mission to be religiously diverse, but Israel is, uniquely, the Jewish state. Whereas Christian missionaries technically have a right to a voice in American religious discourse, their well-heeled influence is inimical to the foundation of the Jewish state. A fair and proper assessment of Israel’s religious tolerance achievement is thus contingent on adjusting the standard to reflect the reality that Israel does properly have a theocratic aspect to its government, whereas the United States endeavors, for legitimate reasons, to partially separate its Christian church from the state. The two nations were established for very different purposes, and measuring their achievement of those purposes with a single standard–the one attenuated to the American raison d’etre–is bound to yield a distorted, and deficient, grade for Israel.
Couldn’t agree more with CharlieHall
#3,
Where is the lie? Everything there is factually true and you know it.
The charliehall’s of the world serve their purpose, reminding us that anti-Semitism is alive and well and as irrational as ever.
Nonetheless, this is a site Jews frequent for news. When Jews want to be reminded that the charliehalls are lurking out there, they can always point their browsers to the likes of nukeisrael.com. There’s no need to trouble casual news readers here, at a Jewish news site, with the in-your-face blanket ranting Jew hatred underpinning charliehall’s two-pronged attack on Israel and on a prominent rabbi.