[tgs]

“This morning, the Israel Defense Forces liberated Jerusalem. We have united Jerusalem, the divided capital of Israel. We have returned to the holiest of our holy places, never to part from it again. To our Arab neighbors we extend, also at this hour - and with added emphasis at this hour - our hand in peace. And to our Christian and Muslim fellow citizens, we solemnly promise full religious freedom and rights. We did not come to Jerusalem for the sake of other peoples' holy places, and not to interfere with the adherents of other faiths, but in order to safeguard its entirety, and to live there together with others, in unity."

–Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, June 7, 1967 [42]
Integrating Israel’s Diversity

The Israeli government has taken broad steps to incorporate people of all religious affiliations and nationalities into the country’s decision-making bodies. Religious minorities in Israel are also represented in private and non-governmental sectors. For example:

Non-Jews have held seats in every Knesset since Israel’s founding. [43] In the very first Knesset in 1949, an Arab-led party -- The Democratic List of Nazareth -- won two seats. The members were Amin-Salim Jarjora and Seif E-Din E-Zoubi; [44]

Israeli Druze Saleh Tarif became Israel’s first non-Jewish government minister in March 2001; [45]

In 2005, the Israeli government appointed Oscar Abu-Razek, a Muslim, as director general of the Ministry of Interior; Abu-Razek became the most senior Arab in a government ministry; [46]

Jamal Hakrush, a Muslim, was promoted to assistant commander by the National Police in December 2006, making him the highest-ranking Israeli-Arab Muslim police officer since Israel’s founding; [47]

Raleb Majadle, a member of Israel’s Labor Party, became the country’s first Arab-Muslim Cabinet member in January 2007; [48]

For the first time since the establishment of Israel, an Arab Christian, Salim Joubran, was appointed in 2004 as a permanent justice of the Supreme Court; [49]

In June 2000, Knesset member Rabbi Michael Melchior founded the Citizens Accord Forum for Jews and Arabs in Israel, a private non-governmental organization calling for economic, social and civic equality for Israel's Jews and Arabs; [50]

The number of non-Jewish directors on the boards of state-owned companies increased from 5.5 percent in 2002 to 10 percent in 2005. Arabs occupy approximately 10 percent of the board seats of 105 state-run companies; [51]

In June 2006, the 35th World Zionist Congress passed a resolution requiring the Jewish Agency to include Israeli-Arab communities in its development plans for the country. [52] Previously, the Jewish Agency had not been active in the Arab and Druze communities; [53]

During Israel’s defensive war against Iran-backed Hezbollah in 2006, the Jewish Agency provided humanitarian aid to Muslim and Christian children in the Galilee. The northern Israeli region suffered the greatest number of hits by Hezbollah-launched rockets. The Agency continued its efforts after the war by helping to rebuild Israeli-Arab communities in northern Israel; [54]

Many non-governmental organizations in Israel, including the Gesher Foundation and Meitarim, are dedicated to encouraging interfaith dialogue and coexistence between Jews and Arabs; [55]

The Israel Airports Authority plans to erect a Muslim prayer room at Ben-Gurion International Airport to accommodate Muslim passengers; [56]

In September 2003, Samaher Zaina became the first female principal of an Arab secondary school. [57]
Religious Oppression by Israel’s Neighbors

In contrast to the institutionalized standards of tolerance in Israeli government and society, many of Israel’s neighbors continue to restrict the right of various peoples to practice their religion.

Palestinian Areas:
In contrast to the respect Israel demonstrates for Muslim holy sites, Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip persecute non-Muslims, desecrating Jewish and Christian sites and oppressing Christian minorities. [58] The roughly 3,000 Christians who live in Gaza face constant persecution by Palestinian extremists. Christians have been killed, and their schools, churches and recreational centers are routinely attacked. [59] Iran-backed Hamas seized control of Gaza during a bloody coup in June 2007. [60]

Before Israel withdrew from all of Gaza in 2005 in hopes of paving the way for an independent Palestinian state, Jews living there required military escorts to travel outside their heavily guarded neighborhoods. [61] Jews in Gaza were the targets of thousands of terrorist attacks, including one that killed 34-year-old Tali Hatuel and her four daughters, all under the age of 12. [62]

As Israel evacuated Gaza, Palestinians vandalized and burned at least four synagogues. [63] Within days, Palestinians also destroyed high-tech greenhouses that had been donated to them to help them with their livelihoods. [64]

Just before the 2005 withdrawal, Israeli Jews uprooted and transferred all of the graves in a Jewish cemetery in Gaza to avoid desecration of the graves. [65] In the two-and-a-half years since the evacuation, Iran-backed terrorists in Gaza, whose extremist ideology includes a stated goal to destroy Israel, [66] have used the area to fire more than 4,500 rockets and mortars into Israeli towns. [67]

Iran: The official religion of Iran is Islam and the constitution states that all laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria. Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians are considered “protected� minorities, however, they still face discrimination and minorities have reported imprisonment, harassment and intimidation. [68] Zoroastrianism, founded in Persia more than 3,500 years ago, is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions and was once the official religion of Persia. [69] The Zoroastrian concept of heaven, hell and resurrection influenced Christianity and Islam. [70] Members of the Bahá’àfaith are targeted more than any other minority and have reported systematic persecution, arbitrary arrests, expulsions from universities and confiscation of property. [71]

Saudi Arabia: Islam is the official religion and the legal system is based on Islamic law (Sharia). Religious freedom is virtually non-existent in Saudi Arabia, which provides no legal protection or recognition of freedom of religion to non-Muslims. [72] Non-Muslims cannot be citizens and although private worship for all religious groups is theoretically permitted, [73] there is no tolerance for public practice of religions other than Islam. [74] Christians have been arrested for worshipping in private [75] and public displays of religious symbols such as the crucifix, the Star of David and Christian Bibles are prohibited. [76] As of August 2007, the Saudi Arabian Airlines Web site stated, “A number of items are not allowed to be brought into the kingdom due to religious reasons and local regulations,� and "Items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam are also prohibited. These may include Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols such as the Star of David, and others." The statement has since been removed from the airline’s Web site. [77]

Syria: There is no official state religion, however Islamic jurisprudence is the main source of legislation [78] and the legal system is based on Ottoman, French and Sharia (Islamic) laws. [79] The constitution provides for freedom of religion, but there are restrictions to this right - for example, only a Muslim is permitted to be president. Additionally, the government bans Jehovah’s Witnesses and its members must conduct its activities discreetly to avoid attracting government attention. The government mandates religious education in schools for all religious groups, however, only instruction on Islam and Christianity is provided. [80]

Lebanon: The Lebanese constitution allows for freedom of religion and equality for all of its citizens is guaranteed. However, the constitution establishes a balance of power between the major religious groups – Christians and Muslims and political positions are limited to specific groups within those religions. For example, the president must be a Maronite Christian; only a Sunni Muslim can be prime minister; and the post of parliament speaker is reserved for a Shia Muslim. [81] Bahá’ÃÂs, Buddhists, Hindus and some Protestant Christian groups are not officially recognized by the government and therefore cannot hold certain government positions. However, members of these religious groups can run for office under a different religious sect. [82]
Expert Sources (U.S. and Israel)

United States:

Dr. Mitchell Bard, Executive Director, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise
Tel.: 301-565-3918 (Maryland)
E-mail: mgbard@aol.com
Web Site: www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org

Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC)
Tel.: 202-682-1200 (office) (Washington, D.C.)
E-mail: crom@eppc.org
Web Site: http://www.eppc.org/scholars/scholarID.10/scholar.asp