http://jta.virtualjerusalem.com/index.exe?0009063
U.S. report on religious freedom
offers criticism, praise for Israel
By Sharon Samber, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 09/06/2000
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (JTA) - A new State
Department report accuses Israel of
discriminatory practices against non-Jewish groups.
The second annual report on international religious freedom, released Tuesday,
lists Israel among countries whose governments "implemented laws or
regulations that favor certain religions and place others at a disadvantage."
At the same time, the report - mandated by the International Religious
Freedom Act passed by Congress in 1998 - praises the Jewish state for
improvements with respect to religious freedom.
Most non-Jewish citizens in Israel are Arabs, and they are subject to various
forms of discrimination, the report charges. The Israeli government does not
provide Israeli Arabs, who make up 20 percent of the population, with the same
quality of education, housing, employment opportunities and social services as
Jews. Government spending and financial support are proportionally lower in
predominantly non-Jewish areas than in Jewish areas.
But, the report notes, "it is not clear that whatever discrepancies exist in the
treatment of various communities in Israeli society are based on religion per se."
Relations between different religious groups often are strained, both between
Jews and non-Jews, as well as among the different branches of Judaism, the
report says.
The report says that evangelical Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses and Reform
and Conservative Jews suffered some incidents of harassment, threats and
vandalism against their facilities, reportedly by fervently Orthodox Jewish
groups. Members of these groups have complained in the past that the police
have been slow to investigate such incidents.
Other "instances of ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups verbally or physically
harassing Jewish citizens for ?immodest dress' or other violations of their
interpretation of religious law are not uncommon," the report said.
The number of incidents increased from July 1999 through June 2000, the period
covered by the report. But the report did not say by how much.
At the same time, the U.S. report says that there were improvements in
religious freedom in Israel. It cites the March 2000 visit of the pope for
contributing to increased religious tolerance in Israel.
In that same month, the High Court of Justice ruled that the government could
neither allocate land on the basis of religion or nationality. The case involved the
quasi-governmental Jewish Agency for Israel, whose bylaws prohibit the sale
or lease of land to non-Jews - although the report incorrectly linked the case to
the Jewish National Fund.
In June 2000, the Israeli government proposed a plan to redress spending for
non-Jewish areas, which was substantially below that in predominantly Jewish
areas. Also, harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses declined in 2000.
As part of the mandate to investigate religious freedoms worldwide, Robert
Seiple, the U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom, visited Israel in
December 1999 and met with government officials and religious leaders to
discuss a number of religious freedom issues, including allegations of
persecution of Christians, intrareligious conflicts in the Jewish community and
the concerns of the Islamic community.
The State Department report, which covers 194 countries, also noted:
* The Iranian government continued to abuse the religious freedom of minority
groups, including Jews. At the trial this year of 10 Jewish defendants, ultimately
convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 4 to 13 years on charges
of spying, the Revolutionary Court "deprived the accused of almost all legitimate
means of defense, and its conduct worsened societal attitudes toward the
Jewish community."
* The number of Jews leaving Russia for economic reasons and fear of
persecution more than doubled in 1999. Jews continue to encounter societal
discrimination, and there are suggestions that there is a sustained pattern of
intensified anti-Semitism.
In a section citing U.S. efforts to promote religious freedom, the report said the
U.S. Embassy in Poland was working to facilitate the protection and return of
former Jewish cemeteries throughout the country and supports ongoing efforts
to establish an international foundation to oversee restitution of Jewish
communal property.
((c) Jewish Telegraphic Agency Inc. The above information is available on a read-only
basis and cannot be reproduced without permission from JTA.)
