[Musa]

Has anyone seen the actual print of this text? I could not find it online.

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Israel dismally fails the requirements of a tolerant pluralistic society, according to a new report from the U.S. State Department.

Despite boasting religious freedom and protection of all holy sites, Israel falls short in tolerance toward minorities, equal treatment of ethnic groups, openness toward various streams within society, and respect for holy and other sites.

The comprehensive report, written by the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, says Israel discriminates against groups including Muslims, Jehova's Witnesses, Reform Jews, Christians, women and Bedouin.

The report says that the 1967 law on the protection of holy places refers to all religious groups in the country, including in Jerusalem, but "the government implements regulations only for Jewish sites. Non-Jewish holy sites do not enjoy legal protection under it because the government does not recognize them as official holy sites."


At the end of 2008, for example, all of the 137 officially recognized holy sites were Jewish. Moreover, Israel issued regulations for the identification, preservation and guarding of Jewish sites only. Many Christian and Muslim sites are said to be neglected, inaccessible or at risk of exploitation by real estate entrepreneurs and local authorities.

The report makes it clear that practices that have become routine in Israel are considered unacceptable in enlightened countries and should be corrected.

Among other examples, the report notes that more than 300,000 immigrants who are not considered Jewish under rabbinical law are not allowed to marry and divorce in Israel or be buried in Jewish cemeteries.

[History]

It would be good to see the actual text of the U.S. Dept. report, I agree Musa. It would be important to understand the facts and their context to determine if the report's conclusions in regard to Israel are accurate--per, I assume, the U.S. Governments standards, which leads also to the issue of the mote and the beam as per Matthew 7. Constructive criticism is very important, however.

The newspaper article is dated January 1, 2009 and it appears the suggestion was just part of a global report on freedom and tolerance in world nations. Can you imagine what it said of Muslim countries? >shudder< While Israel should not use comparison to these despotic and autocratic far less tolerant regimes as an excuse not to improve herself, it is equally important not to blindly and solely castigate Israel for not being a shinier pebble when it is surrounded by mud.

Respectfully,
History