Muslims seek Israeli converts

[웃 910]

I'm curious. There are 53 countries on the globe that are majority Muslim. Why is Saudi Arabia the only one that anyone here thinks they know anything about, and why do they believe that what all Muslims do and all of Islam is based on is determined by what's done there?

You'll get your head chopped off if you are caught drawing a cartoon of Mohamed in many of those countries. We could run an experiment but in the first or second country visited (chosen at random) the guy conducting the experiment will be either dead or in prison. That's a fact!

If I believed that what Christians here do is what Christianity is about I'd hate Christianity.

? What do Christians (76% of ALL ADULTS in the US) here do? Or are you saying just on VJ?

Edited September 29, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[Ban Hammer 13,500]

A long, but worthy read.

ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES*

BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR

July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom Report

Report

September 13, 2011

The Israeli Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty (basic law) protects religious freedom through reference to the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, which describes the country as a Jewish state with full social and political equality, regardless of religious affiliation, and promises freedom of religion. In practice, the government generally protected religious freedom. While there is no constitution, 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. For example government allocations of state resources favored Orthodox (including Modern Orthodox and religious Zionist) and ultra-Orthodox (sometimes referred to as "Haredi") Jewish religious groups and institutions.

There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the government during the reporting period. Although the government generally protected religious freedom, some laws and policies continued to promote certain Orthodox Jewish values over other religious beliefs. There were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice. Some individuals and groups were responsible for discriminatory practices against Israeli-Arab Muslims, Christians, and Messianic Jews at the same elevated level cited in the previous report. Relations among religious and ethnic groups -- between Jews and non-Jews, Muslims and Christians, Arabs and non-Arabs, secular and religious Jews, and among the different streams of Judaism -- were strained during the reporting period.

The U.S. government discusses religious freedom with the government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. When engaging the government on the topic of religious freedom, embassy officials raised such issues as the possibility of expanding the list of officially recognized religious groups, the necessity of investigating religiously motivated acts of violence against minority religious groups, including Messianic Jews and Jehovah's Witnesses, and the need to clarify and end the practice of preventing entry into the country based on the Ministry of Interior's (MOI) lists of suspected "missionaries."

Section I. Religious Demography

Based on its pre-1967 armistice lines, the country has an area of 7,685 square miles. The country has a population of 7.7 million (including settlers living in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem), of which 5.7 million are Jews; 1.5 million are Arab Muslims and Christians; and 320,000 are classified as "other" -- mostly persons from the former Soviet Union who immigrated under the Law of Return but who did not qualify as Jews according to the Orthodox Jewish definition used by the government for civil procedures, although many identify themselves as such.

According to the 2008 report of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 7 percent of the Jewish population is ultra-Orthodox; 10 percent is Orthodox; 39 percent describe themselves as "traditionally religious" or "traditionally non-religious;" and 44 percent describe themselves as "non-religious/secular" Jews, most of whom observed some Jewish traditions. The CBS also estimates that 30 percent of the country's Jewish population was born outside the country. A growing but still small number of traditional and secular Jews associated themselves with the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist streams of Judaism. There is a small but growing community of approximately 10,000 Messianic Jews.

Slightly more than 20 percent of the population consists of non-Jews, the vast majority of whom are ethnic Arabs. Of the total population, Muslims (nearly all Sunnis) constitute 16.6 percent; Christians 1.6 percent; Druze 1.6 percent; and other religious groups 0.5 percent, including relatively small communities of Samaritans, Karaites, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Bahais.

Religious communities were often concentrated in geographical areas according to religious beliefs. According to a 2010 report issued by the Bank of Israel and the Social Security Institution, the country is undergoing a generational demographic shift from a secular society toward a more religious society due to widely divergent birth rates, as ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox Jewish communities tend to have much larger families than secular families. This demographic shift was a source of growing tension in 2010 between secular and ultra-Orthodox communities, including: in the allocation of housing; in debates over the future preparedness of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), since few from the ultra-Orthodox community serve; and in the increasing burden of transfer payments made to ultra-Orthodox families, which are entitled to receive special government subsidies for families with five or more children.

The government reported that during 2009, it issued nearly 90,000 permits for foreigners to work in the country and estimated that another 118,000 illegal foreign workers resided in the country. Foreign workers were members of many different religious groups, including Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic traditions.

Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom

Legal/Policy Framework

Please refer to Appendix C in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the status of the government's acceptance of international legal standards http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/appendices/index.htm.

The Israeli Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty protects religious freedom, and in practice the government generally enforced these protections, although some laws and policies promote certain Orthodox Jewish values over those of other religious beliefs.

In addition, numerous Supreme Court rulings incorporate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including their religious freedom provisions, into the country's body of law. Matters of personal status, however, are governed by the religious law of the parties concerned, and to the extent that such law is inconsistent with Israel's obligations under the ICCPR, the government reserves the right to apply that law. The basic law describes the country as a "Jewish and democratic state" that promises religious freedom and full social and political equality, regardless of religious affiliation. The basic law provides for religious freedom by upholding the spirit of the principles in the Universal Declaration, and government policy continued to support the generally free practice of religion, although governmental and legal discrimination against non-Jews and non-Orthodox streams of Judaism continued.

Israel inherited a pre-existing body of law from the British Mandate (1920 to 1948) and Ottoman (1517 to 1917) periods, which remains the law, apart from the sections specifically abrogated by the Knesset's (parliament) subsequent legislation. The existence of the Sharia (Islamic law) courts is therefore a continuation from the late Ottoman period, when their jurisdiction was already confined to issues of personal status, succession, and administration of waqfs (religious endowments). The institution of the Chief Rabbinate as the supreme authority on halacha (Jewish law) and personal status issues also continues since the Ottoman "millet" system, which made hierarchical religious authorities responsible for every individual within the Caliphate. The jurisdiction of each religious community over its own adherents' personal status issues continued in the provisions of the 1922 British Mandate that remain the applicable law today.

The law recognizes the following "religious communities:" Eastern Orthodox, Latin (Roman Catholic), Gregorian-Armenian, Armenian-Catholic, Syrian Catholic, Chaldean (Chaldean Uniate Catholic), Greek Catholic Melkite, Maronite, Syrian Orthodox, Druze, Evangelical Episcopal, and Bahai. The fact that the Muslim population was not defined as a religious community was a vestige of the Ottoman period when Islam was the dominant religion, but this has not limited Muslims from practicing their faith. A collection of arrangements with various government agencies defined the status of several Christian denominations with representation in the country. The government allows members of unrecognized religious groups to practice their religious beliefs, but their personal status issues, including marriage, must be handled by an authority within one of the recognized communities.

Major Protestant denominations that have been in the country for many years, such as the Assemblies of God, Baptists, and Lutherans, among others, are not recognized. Four religious communities have applied for state recognition, but their applications have been pending for years: Ethiopian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the United Christian Council in Israel, an umbrella organization for many Protestant churches in the country.

Both recognized and unrecognized religious communities complained of difficulties receiving clergy visas for their representatives and leaders. While recognized religious communities only needed visa approvals through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), unrecognized religious communities' visas had to be approved additionally through the MOI to justify stays longer than five years. Many religious leaders complained that the MOI made arbitrary decisions leading to difficulties in maintaining consistent religious leadership for their communities within the country.

With some exceptions, each officially recognized religious community has legal authority over its members in matters of marriage, divorce, and burial, limiting the freedom of many individuals who may not otherwise subject themselves to the authority of those religious hierarchies. The Islamic law courts have exclusive jurisdiction in matters of personal status concerning Muslims. Local tribunals did not exercise jurisdiction over personal status issues of non-recognized groups. In general, only recognized religious communities received government funding for their religious services, though there are some exceptions, including for Samaritans and Karaites.

Following Supreme Court rulings since 2002, the government registers certificates of conversion to Judaism performed in the country and abroad by Reform and Conservative rabbis; however, a petition is still pending a decision regarding the entitlement of such converts to the rights granted under the Law of Return. 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 or divorce in the country and cannot be buried in Jewish cemeteries. The government provides funds for Orthodox conversion programs but does not provide support for non-Orthodox (Reform and Conservative) programs. The government had not taken any steps by the end of the reporting period to implement the May 2009 High Court of Justice ruling that the government must cease discriminating against non-Orthodox conversions. The Israeli Defense Forces sponsored Orthodox Jewish conversion courses for Jewish soldiers converted to non-Orthodox (and therefore unrecognized) tradition and for soldiers not recognized as Jewish by the Orthodox rabbinical authorities. Residency rights are not granted to relatives of converts to Judaism, except for children of female converts who are born after the mother's conversion is complete.

Although not officially recognized for purposes of civil and personal status matters, groups composed of adherents of Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist streams of Judaism received a small amount of government funding and were recognized by the courts.

The government implements some policies based on Orthodox Jewish interpretations of religious law. For example the only in-country Jewish marriages the government recognizes are those performed by the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate. The government does not allow civil marriages, such as secular ceremonies performed by state or municipal authorities, or marriages performed by Conservative, Reform, or Reconstructionist rabbis. Civil marriages, non-Orthodox marriages of Jews, or interfaith marriages must take place abroad to be recognized by the government. Jews who married in civil ceremonies or in non-Orthodox ceremonies performed abroad were able to divorce only via rabbinical courts that operated according to halacha, or through courts abroad.

In order to marry in government-recognized ceremonies, Jews had to undergo marriage counseling administered by Orthodox religious authorities. As part of this counseling, all Jews -- including the secular majority and those who practice Reform or Conservative Judaism -- were taught to respect traditional Orthodox family roles.

A new law, passed in March 2010, allows for the civil registration of couples within the country only if both partners are recognized as being "of no religion." No person with religious belief can choose to be married in a civil ceremony or marry someone "of no religion" within the country.

The Chief Rabbinate also determines who is buried in Jewish state cemeteries, limiting this right to individuals considered Jewish by Orthodox standards. This exclusion of people who consider themselves Jewish, usually descendants of Jewish fathers but not Jewish mothers, has led to public outcries, especially during national tragedies, such as the December 5 burial of a Carmel fire victim at a military cemetery. The mourning mother firmly objected, but eventually acquiesced to the Chief Rabbinate's decision to bury her daughter in the non-Jewish section. Although Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin set a precedent in 1993 when he reversed the Chief Rabbinate's decision to bury a soldier killed by Hamas outside the Jewish section of the military cemetery, no other government leader has overruled the Chief Rabbinate regarding Jewish burials.

Members of unrecognized religious groups also faced difficulties in obtaining marriage certifications and burial services.

Proselytizing is legal in the country, and missionaries of all religious groups are allowed to proselytize all citizens. A 1977 law prohibits any person from offering material benefits as an inducement to conversion. It is also illegal to convert persons under 18 years of age unless one parent is an adherent of the religious group seeking to convert the minor. Despite the legality of proselytism, the government has taken a number of steps that discouraged proselytizing and encouraged the popular perception that it is illegal. For example the MOI detained individuals suspected of being "missionaries" upon arrival at the airport and required such persons to post bail and pledge to abstain from missionary activity. At times government officials have also refused people they perceived as missionaries entry into the country. It maintained denunciations of missionary activity from anti-missionary groups like Yad L'Achim in its border control databases. The Interior Ministry has also cited proselytism as a reason to deny student, work, and religious visa extensions, as well as to deny permanent residency petitions. The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, composed of an array of Knesset members from most political parties, issued passes to some Christians whom it deemed as not being engaged in missionary activity to facilitate their entry into the country.

The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law safeguards the holy sites of all religious groups including in Jerusalem. All holy sites enjoy certain protections under the penal law, which make it a criminal offense to damage any holy site, and historic sites are also protected by the antiquities law. The government provided resources for the upkeep of holy places of all recognized religious communities, but provided significantly greater levels of government resources to Jewish holy places.

A government policy since 1967, upheld repeatedly by the Supreme Court and routinely enforced by the police citing security concerns, denies all non-Muslims the opportunity to worship at the Temple Mount. While the government ensured limited access to the Temple Mount to everyone regardless of religious beliefs, only Muslims were allowed to pray at the site, although their access has been occasionally restricted due to security concerns. Israeli police regulated traffic in and out of the compound and removed non-Muslim visitors if they appeared to be praying. Since 2000 the Jordanian Waqf that manages the site has restricted non-Muslims from entering the Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Non-Muslim religious symbols are not allowed to be worn on the Temple Mount.

Government authorities prohibited mixed-gender prayer services at Jewish religious sites in deference to the belief of most Orthodox Jews that such services violated the precepts of Judaism. At the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, men and women must use separate areas to visit and pray. According to a policy repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court, women are not allowed to conduct prayers at the Western Wall while wearing prayer shawls and are not permitted to read from Torah scrolls because this form of prayer violates Orthodox interpretations of Jewish law. There is a separate prayer area along the Western Wall, south of the Mughrabi Gate, less than half the size of the men's section, where women may pray wearing prayer shawls and read the Torah.

The signs posted around the Western Wall plaza requesting gender segregation throughout the plaza, rather than just at the prayer areas, were removed in 2010. Ultra-Orthodox "modesty patrols" attempted to enforce gender separation and guarded the path designated for "men only" that was installed in 2009 opposite the Western Wall. Some mixed-gender ceremonies have been canceled at the Western Wall plaza, but the public usually ignored the occasional requests for gender separation throughout the plaza.

According to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Hiddush-Religious Freedom and Equality, the country financially supported over 100,000 yeshiva (religious studies) students over the age of 18. In June the High Court ruled on a decade-old case that such assured income for yeshiva students was illegal, as there was no basis for treating these students preferentially above all other students. The court ordered the government to remove the clause from the 2011 state budget. In late 2010 an interministerial team recommended that yeshiva students meet specific requirements to receive subsidies.

By law the government subsidizes 55 to 75 percent of the expenses incurred by ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious schools, as long as they teach an equivalent percentage of the national curriculum, which includes non-religious subjects.

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.

Public Hebrew-language secular schools taught Jewish history and Jewish religious texts. These classes primarily covered Jewish heritage and culture, rather than religious belief. Public Arabic-speaking schools with Arab student bodies taught mandatory classes on the Qur'an and the Bible, since both Muslim and Christian Arabs attended these schools. Orthodox Jewish religious schools that are part of the public school system taught mandatory religion classes, as did independent ultra-Orthodox schools that received significant state funding. A few independent mixed Jewish-Arab schools also existed and offered religion classes.

No religious group possesses legal jurisdiction over financial disputes.

The government employs civilian non-Jewish clergy as chaplains at military burials when a non-Jewish soldier dies in service. The MOI provides imams to conduct funerals according to Muslim customs. All Jewish chaplains in the IDF are Orthodox.

Military service is compulsory for Jews, Druze, and the 5,000-member Circassian community (Muslims from the northwestern Caucasus region who immigrated to various points in the Ottoman-controlled Middle East in the late 19th century). Government policy, formalized and conditioned by the 2002 Tal Law, allows ultra-Orthodox Jews to refuse to serve based on religious reasons. Israeli Arabs -- both Muslim and Christian -- are also exempted from compulsory service. The majority of Israeli Arabs opt out of military service; however, some Christian and Muslim Arab citizens, including many Bedouin, voluntarily enlist. In lieu of military service, Israeli Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews can perform national service for one to two years, including for NGOs focused on improving their own communities as volunteers in health, education, and welfare sectors. This voluntary national service confers eligibility for similar national benefits accorded military veterans.

The 1993 Fundamental Agreement ratified by the Knesset in 1994 established relations between the Holy See and the government. The subsequent 16-year-long economic negotiations between the government and the Holy See continued at the end of the reporting period. These negotiations addressed property rights and tax exemptions for Roman Catholic institutions and their access to Israeli courts. All recognized religious groups are exempt from taxation for places of worship, according to the annually drafted Arrangements Law.

Secular courts have primacy over questions of inheritance, but by mutual agreement parties may file such cases in religious courts instead. The rabbinical courts, when exercising these powers in civil matters, apply religious law, which varies from civil law, including in matters relating to the property rights of widows and daughters. Family status matters are normally the purview of religious courts, but Jewish, Druze, and Christian families may ask for some cases, such as alimony and child custody in divorces, to be adjudicated in civil courts. Since 2001 Muslims also have the right to bring matters such as alimony and property division associated with divorce to civil courts in family-status cases. In practice Muslims rarely choose this option. Paternity cases are the exclusive jurisdiction of Islamic law courts.

The MOI has jurisdiction over religious matters concerning non-Jewish groups, while the Ministry of Tourism is responsible for the protection and upkeep of non-Jewish holy sites. The Ministry of Religious Affairs has jurisdiction over the country's 133 Jewish religious councils, which oversee the provision of religious services for Jewish communities. The MOI's Department of Non-Jewish Affairs overseas one non-Jewish religious council exists (Druze). Legislation establishing religious councils does not include non-Jewish religious communities other than the Druze. The government financed approximately 40 percent of the religious councils' budgets, and local municipalities funded the remainder.

The government funded the construction of Jewish synagogues and cemeteries. According to the government, while the state budget does not cover the costs of construction for non-Jewish places of worship, it provides some assistance for their maintenance, although at a disproportionately lower level than for synagogues.

Under the Law of Return, the government grants immigration and residence rights to individuals who meet established criteria defining Jewish identity and also to certain family members. Eligible family members include a child or grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew, and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew. The government uses a separate, more rigorous standard based on Orthodox Jewish criteria for entitlement to government financial support for immigrants, the legitimacy of conversions to Judaism performed within the country, and Jewish status for purposes of personal and some civil status issues.

The Law of Return established the right for every Jew to immigrate. Both physical descendants and religious converts have been excluded at times, however, based solely on the potential immigrant's religious belief.

Those born to Israeli Jews remain Israeli citizens according to the state, regardless of their religious belief or Orthodox recognition, while non-Israeli Jewish descendants were routinely asked religious questions to determine whether they qualified to become a citizen. The question of whether one believes Jesus is the Jewish Messiah is one question used to determine whether a Jew was qualified to immigrate. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right, however, of Israeli Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah to retain their citizenship. The immigration exclusion was routinely applied only against Messianic Jews, whereas Jews who were atheists or chose to believe in other religions, including many Hindus and Buddhists, were not screened out.

Non-Orthodox converts to Judaism are entitled to the civil right of return, Israeli citizenship, and registration as Jews in the civil population registry. These individuals are not able to marry in the country, as they do not meet Orthodox standards. Ethiopian Jews, who practice no rituals relating to the oral tradition of halacha but continue to observe an older form of Biblical Judaism, also had some difficulty getting their marriages and divorces registered due to Orthodox standards, although some Orthodox rabbis have registered their marriages.

Identification cards issued before 2007 distinguished between Jews and non-Jews by the differing dates printed on identification cards using either the Gregorian calendar with roman numerals for non-Jews or the Hebrew calendar with Hebrew numerals for Jewish citizens. Documents issued after 2007 carry both dates.

The government observes the following religious holidays as national holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simhat Torah, Passover, and Shavuot. Jewish holidays and the Sabbath are officially established as days of rest, and non-Jews have the right to observe their own Sabbath and holidays as days of rest from work. Arab municipalities often recognize Christian and Muslim holidays. The law prohibits employers from refusing to hire or firing employees who observed a different day of rest for religious observance; nor can employers make working on a rest day a condition of employment. The Ministry of Labor and Social Services issued permits for exceptions enabling essential workers to work on their days of rest. The law gives municipalities the authority to order the opening or closing of businesses on the Sabbath.

Restrictions on Religious Freedom

The government selectively enforced legal and policy restrictions on religious freedom. Government policy contributed to the generally free practice of religion, although government discrimination against non-Jews and non-Orthodox streams of Judaism continued. For example the government continued to discriminate against non-Orthodox Jewish citizens through some policies based on Orthodox Jewish interpretations of religious law. A minority of Jews in the country observe the Orthodox tradition, and the majority of Jewish citizens objected to exclusive Orthodox control over fundamental aspects of their personal lives.

Muslims criticized the lack of sufficient state funding in support of Muslim affairs, including for the building and restoration of mosques and cemeteries. Many mosques lack an appointed imam, which is the responsibility of the MOI's Muslim religious affairs department. The country also lacks any academic training center for the study of Islam to educate future imams and qadis (Sharia court judges).

In August the MOI did not renew the residency permit of the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem on accusations of forgery, which the Bishop denied. The MOI, however, did not press charges against the Bishop, and he remained in Jerusalem.

While proselytism is officially legal, some missionaries continued to face harassment and discrimination from local government officials.

During the reporting period, members of many religious groups traveled to the country freely. However, according to representatives of Christian institutions, visa issuance rates for some of their religious workers remained low. The MOI granted multi-entry visas only to a limited list of members of the clergy and other religious workers seeking to travel to and between their parishes in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Other clergy who wished to return to or visit their parishes and congregations were required to apply for new, single-entry visas at Israeli consulates abroad -- a process that could take months.

Since the government did not have diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, Muslim citizens traveled through another country, usually Jordan, to obtain travel documents for performing the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). According to the government, travel to hostile countries, including travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, may be restricted. Palestinian religious groups faced restrictions in practice, such as closures and long waits at Israeli border crossings, which often impeded travel into Israel for religious purposes.

According to government figures, the 2010 budget for religious services and religious institutions for the Jewish population was approximately NIS 1.6 billion ($433 million), of which religious education accounted for more than NIS 1.1 billion ($294 million). Religious minorities, which constituted slightly more than 20 percent of the population, received approximately NIS 47 million ($12.7 million), or less than 3 percent of total funding.

The High Rabbinical Court restricted the choice of some individuals' to convert to Judaism. In May 2009 the High Court of Justice ordered the High Rabbinical Court to explain its retroactive annulment of two Jewish conversions performed by the state-sanctioned Orthodox "Special Conversion" court, but the High Rabbinical Court, which disputed the secular High Court's jurisdiction over the issue, had not responded by the end of the reporting period. The validity of about 40,000 similar conversions since 1999 therefore remained in doubt, since the 2008 annulment ruling alleged the Conversion Authority's prior head had allowed lax observance standards.

As in previous reporting periods, the Religious Affairs Ministry failed to implement the 1996 Alternative Burial Law, which established the right of any individual to be buried in a civil ceremony. The Religious Affairs Ministry did not utilize any of the money allocated in the 2010 state budget for the development of civil, pluralistic, burial plots. There was one regional public cemetery, in Be'er Sheva, and two local cemeteries, in Kfar Saba and Kiryat Tivon, available to the general public. The government contracted with some private cemeteries to provide burial solutions when no other options existed. In 2008 the Jerusalem municipality approved plans to establish a new civil city cemetery for use by those who do not want or cannot receive burial according to Orthodox rites. Citizens who seek civil burials in other regions must use private cemeteries located on kibbutzim (collective farms) at high personal cost, while state burials are free of charge.

A public transportation company, Egged, which operated much of the country's public transportation system, continued to operate some sex-segregated buses along inter- and intra-city routes frequented by ultra-Orthodox Jews. Women who refused to sit at the back of such buses risked harassment and physical assault by male passengers. On February 1, 2010, Transportation Minister Israel Katz determined gender segregation could continue as long as it was done voluntarily, but on February 18 the Supreme Court issued an injunction prohibiting any new sex-segregated bus lines and enforcement of sex segregation on existing lines. A petition submitted to the Supreme Court against the continued existence of these segregated bus lines was pending before the court at the end of the reporting period.

Muslim residents of the Be'er Sheva area continued to protest the municipality's intention to reopen a former mosque (1906-1948) as a museum rather than as a mosque for the city's Muslim residents. The building served as a court and prison until 1953, and as an archaeological museum until abandoned in 1992 due to structural problems. The High Court rejected a petition from the Israeli-Arab legal advocacy NGO Adalah to enjoin the municipality from renovating the structure into a museum. The building is now renovated but not used. A governmental review committee opposed changing its designation from a museum to a mosque. Both the city and the national police argued that a functioning mosque at that central location would disrupt daily life in the Old City of Be'er Sheva and lead to conflict between Muslim and Jewish communities. In 2006 the High Court proposed a compromise whereby the mosque would be used as a museum of Islamic culture and Eastern Nations, and the city agreed to dedicate the museum to the cultures of the sons of Abraham. In January 2007 the Islamic Movement, represented by Adalah, rejected the court proposal, arguing that the religious rights of Muslims who did not have a mosque in the Old City should be respected. The court ordered the parties to reach an agreement in June 2009, but recognized on February 17, 2010, that no agreement would be reached by the Islamic Movement and the municipality. There have been no further hearings, and the High Court had not issued its decision in the case by the end of the reporting period.

The approximately 60,000 Bedouin living in unrecognized villages were unable to build or legally maintain mosques as a result of longstanding government policy to deny ownership claims, building requests, and municipal services in Bedouin communities. Mosques existed in unrecognized Bedouin communities, but, as with homes and other community structures, the government considered them illegal and therefore subject to demolition.

In October 2008 the High Court ruled that the Simon Wiesenthal Center could continue construction at a site in Jerusalem despite the objections of several Muslim organizations, which argued that it was located on part of the Mamilla Cemetery. Supporters of the U.S.-based center had cited an 1894 ruling by the Islamic Law court, which stated that the cemetery was no longer sacred because it was abandoned. The High Court explained in its ruling that the construction site had served as a municipal parking lot for almost 50 years without a single complaint leveled against such use, and Islamic authorities in 1929 had allowed construction in other parts of the abandoned cemetery. Some Islamic groups continued to object to the project on religious grounds during the reporting period.

The legal defense NGO, Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ), continued to allege that MOI officials denied services to some citizens based on their religious beliefs. The JIJ's legal defense caseload included numerous cases dealing with attempts by the MOI to revoke the citizenship of persons discovered holding Messianic or Christian beliefs, or to deny some national services -- such as welfare benefits or passports -- to such persons. In other cases, the JIJ alleged that the MOI refused to process immigration applications from persons entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return if it was determined such persons held Christian or Messianic Jewish religious beliefs. In response to a contempt of court hearing on March 16, 2010, the MOI granted the petitioners citizenship in accordance with an April 2008 High Court ruling that stated that the government could not deny citizenship to three Messianic Jews who were eligible to immigrate under the Law of Return.

Abuses of Religious Freedom

There were reports of abuses, including detainees, in the country. Some tourists were temporarily detained for religious reasons at Ben-Gurion Airport, prevented from entering Israel, and sent back to their countries of origin because of the MOI's "suspicions of missionary activity," as explained to them by the border control officials at the airport. According to a government report cited in an April 4, 2010, Yediot Ahronot newspaper article, 30 percent of the more than 110,000 tourists detained in 2009 at the airport for rigorous security interrogations were on an MOI watch list, while the others were on security watch lists. There are no clearly publicized regulations as to how the MOI places a person on the watch list or on what grounds, but the questioning of such individuals often relates to their religious beliefs.

An article in Yediot Ahronot in March 2010 reported that police arrested two Haredi men at the Western Wall on suspicion that they threw chairs at a group of praying women from the Women of the Wall organization, a group occasionally targeted by religious groups for practicing their religion at holy sites. 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.

Abuses by Rebel or Foreign Forces or Terrorist Organizations

During the reporting period, terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, carried out attacks against Israeli citizens, mostly in the form of indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip. Terrorists often issued statements that contained anti-Semitic rhetoric in conjunction with the attacks.

Section III. Status of Societal Actions Affecting Enjoyment of Religious Freedom

There were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice.

Some individuals and groups were responsible for abusive and discriminatory practices against Israeli-Arab Muslims, evangelical Christians, and Messianic Jews with the same frequency as during the previous reporting period.

Relations between other religious and ethnic groups, including Muslims and Christians, Arabs and non-Arabs, and secular and religious Jews, also continued to be strained. Such religious and ethnic tensions were fueled by historical grievances, as well as by cultural and religious differences.

About 50 prominent rabbis, led by Safed chief rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, published a religious ruling on December 7 prohibiting the sale or rental of real estate to non-Jews and calling for the exclusion from religious gatherings of any Jewish person who breaks the ruling. The ruling argued that allowing non-Jews to reside in a community could damage the religious beliefs of neighboring Jews who might be influenced by the non-Jews, could result in intermarriage, and would reduce home values. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promptly condemned the halachic ruling, along with President Shimon Peres, many parliamentarians, human rights groups, and Israeli Arabs -- against whom it was primarily directed. The Minorities Affairs Minister called on the Justice Minister to begin the process of suspending Eliyahu from his post as a municipal rabbi. Eliyahu was previously indicted for incitement in 2004 but avoided trial by apologizing. All of the signatories' salaries were paid by the government, including dozens of chief rabbis of cities across Israel. At the end of the reporting period, the Attorney General was looking into whether the signatories could be prosecuted for incitement.

Nazareth (population 72,000), the city with the country's largest Arab majority, experienced strained relations between the growing Muslim majority and the Christian minority. On October 6, 2010, Sheikh Nazem Abu Salim, the imam of the Shihab al-Din mosque, was indicted for inciting violence against Christians and Jews that resulted in attacks (including one Jewish death), supporting Al Qaeda, and recruiting for global jihad. Some Arab Christians in Nazareth said that fear of reprisal by members of the Islamic Movement prevented them from proselytizing openly.

Umm el-Fahm, the country's second largest Arab majority city (population 45,000), was a site of continuing tension between Jews and Muslims. The city has an entirely Muslim population and has elected its leadership from the Islamic Movement since 1989, when Sheikh Raed Salah first became mayor. Over the past few years, Salah gained notoriety for busing Islamic Movement followers from Umm el-Fahm to Jerusalem, where on several occasions Muslims on the Temple Mount threw rocks down onto Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall. On July 25, 2010, Salah was sentenced to five months in prison for his 2007 attack on a police officer while protesting against the rebuilding of a ramp to the Mughrabi Gate, the sole entrance for non-Muslims to the Temple Mount. On October 17 Suleiman Aghbaria, another former mayor of Umm el-Fahm, received a suspended six-month sentence for attacking a police officer during the same incident. On October 27 as a result of the Supreme Court's decision to overrule police security objections to a planned demonstration, 30 Jewish activists marched through Umm el-Fahm in protest against the Islamic Movement. Hundreds of police ensured that the ensuing riot was quickly controlled without casualties, arresting 10 people for throwing rocks.

On October 29, 2010, an arsonist broke into the basement of the Christian Alliance Church in Jerusalem and set fire to the building, partly destroying it. Ten foreign volunteers were awakened and escaped, but required treatment for smoke inhalation. The church is located in a predominantly ultra-Orthodox neighborhood and allows Messianic Jewish and Arab Christian congregations to use its facilities. A large crowd of ultra-Orthodox Jews watched the fire, with four of the young men chanting loudly "Let it burn!" The fire marshal determined the cause was arson, and the police began an investigation.

On October 12, 2010, an arsonist set two fires at Tel Aviv-Yafo's historic Al Hambra Theater, which had been bought by the Church of Scientology in 2007 and largely renovated for future use. Nine workers escaped unharmed from the building. Scientologists complained about incitement by The Israeli Center for Victims of Cults, which had previously suggested the building be burned and whose predominantly religiously based objection filed with the municipality was forestalling the Scientologists from acquiring the final permit needed from the city to fully renovate the building for use.

Expressions of animosity between secular and religious Jews continued during the reporting period. Some members of ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups acted in a discriminatory and intolerant manner toward non-Orthodox Jews. As in past years, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem and other ultra-Orthodox enclaves threw rocks at passing motorists driving on the Sabbath and periodically harassed or assaulted women whose appearance they considered immodest. According to a September poll published by Hiddush-For Religious Freedom and Equality, the Religion and State Index, 49 percent of Jewish adults rated the tension between secular and ultra-Orthodox as the most serious internal tension in society.

Societal attitudes toward missionary activities and conversion generally were negative. Most Jews opposed missionary activity directed at Jews, and some were hostile to Jewish converts to Christianity. While proselytism is officially legal, missionaries continued to face harassment and discrimination by some Jewish activists and organizations. The Messianic Jewish and Jehovah's Witnesses communities, among others, accused groups such as Yad L'Achim and Lev L'Achim, Jewish religious organizations opposed to missionary activity, of harassing and occasionally assaulting their members. According to JIJ attorneys and representatives of affected religious communities, Yad L'Achim pressured landlords, employers, and MOI officials to assist its campaigns against groups it deemed "dangerous cults."

In spite of a June 2009 Supreme Court ruling and a subsequent finding of contempt of court, the Chief Rabbinate Council and Ashdod Rabbinate had not restored the kosher license that rabbinical authorities had torn down from the Pnina Pie Bakery in Ashdod in June 2006, after seeing a Yad L'Achim sign warning that the owner of the bakery was a Messianic Jew. The court noted that the removal of the license, which drastically affected the bakery's business, was solely due to the owner being a Messianic Jew and had nothing to do with Kashrut law.

In June 2010 the Omar Bin Khattab mosque in the village of Ibtin in northern Israel was vandalized and defaced, with graffiti that included the Star of David and which called for the destruction of the holy site. A police investigation was still ongoing at the end of the reporting period.

During the reporting period, members of Jehovah's Witnesses reported assaults, threats of violence, and other crimes against their members and noted the difficulties their members faced in convincing the police to investigate or apprehend the perpetrators. Jehovah's witnesses filed police reports in Ashdod, Haifa, and Bat Yam detailing accounts of religiously motivated physical assaults, as well as death threats accusing them of "missionary" activity and calling on them to leave.

Interfaith dialogue often was linked to ongoing peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians and between the country and its Arab neighbors. A number of NGOs sought to build understanding and create dialogue among religious groups and between religious and secular Jewish communities. These organizations included the Gesher Foundation; Meitarim, which operated a pluralistic, Jewish-oriented school system; the Interreligious Coordinating Council, which promoted interfaith dialogue among Jewish, Muslim, and Christian institutions; and the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, comprising the chief religious authorities of the area's Jewish, Muslim, and Christian establishments.

Section IV. U.S. Government Policy

The U.S. government discusses religious freedom with the government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. The U.S. embassy consistently raised concerns of religious freedom with the MFA, the police, and other government agencies.

Embassy officials maintained a dialogue with NGOs focusing on human and civil rights, including religious freedom, and promoted interfaith initiatives. Embassy representatives also attended and spoke at meetings of such organizations and encouraged religious leaders to advance regional peace and calm local tensions. The embassy conducted programs that exposed Israelis to U.S. models of religious diversity and civil society.

The embassy also raised with the government issues such as the possibility of expanding the list of officially recognized religious groups; the necessity of investigating religiously motivated acts of violence against minority religious groups, including Messianic Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Scientologists; and the need to end the practice of preventing entry into the country based on the MOI's lists of suspected "missionaries."

* Report on the Occupied Territories are found at the link.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

You'll get your head chopped off if you are caught drawing a cartoon of Mohamed in many of those countries. We could run an experiment but in the first or second country visited (chosen at random) the guy conducting the experiment will be either dead or in prison. That's a fact!

You don't know that for a fact, but it must be fun to repeat since it's done so often.

? What do Christians (76% of ALL ADULTS in the US) here do? Or are you saying just on VJ?

Nope, over a lifetime of interaction with them, I've come to the conclusion that modeling the faith is not their strong suit.

[mawilson 2,133]

You don't know that for a fact, but it must be fun to repeat since it's done so often.

Nothing good would happen, that's a fact.

[Captain Oates 911]

You don't know that for a fact, but it must be fun to repeat since it's done so often.

Nope, over a lifetime of interaction with them, I've come to the conclusion that modeling the faith is not their strong suit.

I have bean to Saudi Arabia

I have seen people with limbs chopped off

My boss told me to lay on the floor and kiss his feet

It's no good people telling me its all myth because I know the cruelty that happens there

Slavery, amputations, murders, unspeakable cruelty.

Saudi Arabia is the center of the Muslim world. Mecca.

I have never been east of Crete in the Northern Hemisphere since going to Saudi - and I never would.

I am not overly impressed with American society, but Muslim Countries make this place look like heaven on earth.

Edited September 29, 2011 by Alan the Red

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I am not overly impressed with American society, but Muslim Countries make this place look like heaven on earth.

I don't know. One of my lifelong friends is having a blast* teaching English in Kabul for the last decade, when he is not building his house on Puerto Galera, or on a dive trip.

*Luckily, no missing body parts.

[웃 910]

You don't know that for a fact, but it must be fun to repeat since it's done so often.

It is a fact that there is one religion that chops your head off if you proselytize or speak badly of their favorite prophet or draw a cartoon. Now maybe its 10 people in a city of 100,000 that are doing the head chopping. But the other places seem to be more open-minded when it comes to this type of thing. The countries I am talking about are not open-minded. Unless by open-minded you mean chopping a head off and a brain coming out.

It is fun to repeat. You should try it some time!

Nope, over a lifetime of interaction with them, I've come to the conclusion that modeling the faith is not their strong suit.

How many Christians have you interacted with in your lifetime? There are about 173 million of them (only counting 'adults') at the moment in this country.

[Captain Oates 911]

I don't know. One of my lifelong friends is having a blast* teaching English in Kabul for the last decade, when he is not building his house on Puerto Galera, or on a dive trip.

*Luckily, no missing body parts.

We may see him on an internet video some time

[sandinista! 1,816]

I have bean to Saudi Arabia

I have seen people with limbs chopped off

My boss told me to lay on the floor and kiss his feet

It's no good people telling me its all myth because I know the cruelty that happens there

Slavery, amputations, murders, unspeakable cruelty.

Saudi Arabia is the center of the Muslim world. Mecca.

I have never been east of Crete in the Northern Hemisphere since going to Saudi - and I never would.

I am not overly impressed with American society, but Muslim Countries make this place look like heaven on earth.

oh ya bean there then?

i was in morocco, in a couple of major cities during the thick of the whole cartoons fiasco, and all i saw were a few people picketing outside a couple places in casablanca. meanwhile the rest of morocco was going on with, you know, life. no heads rolling. i doubt sofiyya needs you to remind her that mecca is in saudi arabia. but since you insist on banging on about how you know so much more about what islam is and what muslims are than actual muslims themselves, i'll just leave you to your fun and games.

[Captain Oates 911]

In Saudi Arabia, if you commit adultery, you then get stoned - in the USA its the other way around

[sandinista! 1,816]

It is a fact that there is one religion that chops your head off if you proselytize or speak badly of their favorite prophet or draw a cartoon. Now maybe its 10 people in a city of 100,000 that are doing the head chopping. But the other places seem to be more open-minded when it comes to this type of thing. The countries I am talking about are not open-minded. Unless by open-minded you mean chopping a head off and a brain coming out.

It is fun to repeat. You should try it some time!

How many Christians have you interacted with in your lifetime? There are about 173 million of them (only counting 'adults') at the moment in this country.

/

brains usually remain self contained within the skull cavity during a decapitation. doesn't anybody know basic human anatomy anymore?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

You'd be surprised how many westerners, including celebrities, live and vacation in the ME. They like it just fine.

I have bean to Saudi Arabia

I have seen people with limbs chopped off

My boss told me to lay on the floor and kiss his feet

It's no good people telling me its all myth because I know the cruelty that happens there

Slavery, amputations, murders, unspeakable cruelty.

Saudi Arabia is the center of the Muslim world. Mecca.

I have never been east of Crete in the Northern Hemisphere since going to Saudi - and I never would.

I am not overly impressed with American society, but Muslim Countries make this place look like heaven on earth.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

It's not about the religion, so your statement is incorrect. People who do violence come in all faiths, as evidenced by the report on religious rights in Israel that you've probably ignored. You say these things for effect, and it's clear that's all it is.

For now, I live in this country. I've also lived and worked in several Muslim countries, so I have first hand experience there. How many Muslim countries have you lived in? There are 53 of them.

It is a fact that there is one religion that chops your head off if you proselytize or speak badly of their favorite prophet or draw a cartoon. Now maybe its 10 people in a city of 100,000 that are doing the head chopping. But the other places seem to be more open-minded when it comes to this type of thing. The countries I am talking about are not open-minded. Unless by open-minded you mean chopping a head off and a brain coming out.

It is fun to repeat. You should try it some time!

How many Christians have you interacted with in your lifetime? There are about 173 million of them (only counting 'adults') at the moment in this country.

[sandinista! 1,816]

In Saudi Arabia, if you commit adultery, you then get stoned - in the USA its the other way around

couching this in terms of islam vs everybody else though is just a fail. saudi arabia is a crappy place to be a muslim too-this horrid stuff happens to muslims there too.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Saudi Arabia is the center of the Muslim world. Mecca.

If you were every really in the KSA, you would know that's not true. It has the hajj, but that doesn't make it the center of the "Muslim world".