Freedom of Religion and of Conscience in Israel

תקציר

For almost two thousand years the Jews lived as a religious minority, sometimes tolerated and at other times persecuted in a great number of countries. Only in 1948 did they succeed in establishing a State in which they constituted a majority of the population. Moreover, this State was formally established as a "Jewish State." These circumstances explain the special interest in the question of how and to what extent Israel recognizes and implements the right to freedom of religion and of conscience. Like all other human rights, this one has to be judged not simply by the general proclamation of the right but by the details of its implementation and by its limitations. It is therefore our intention to start, after a few preliminary remarks, with an examination of the Jewish character of the State, and of the principle of freedom of religion and of conscience, as well as of the limitations of this freedom. The study of the implementation of the principle requires an analysis of certain details: the status of the Holy Places, equality of rights of members of different religions, the right to change one's religion, regulation of proselytizing activities, the right to a religious education, matters of personal status, and the situation of persons who do not belong to any religious group. The 1981 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief' also mentions most of these subjects as ingredients of freedom of religion but some are not, namely, those that are relevant only to few countries, including Israel, specifically, the Holy Places and jurisdiction in matters of personal status.