|
US report says Israel unfair to Messianics
A US State Department report on religious freedom placed Israel on notice
regarding its treatment of Messianic Jews, foreigners and minorities.
The "Israel and Occupied Territories" chapter
in the 2005 International Religious Freedom Report expands its
criticisms of Israel's treatment
of non-Orthodox Jewish denominations. For the first time, the report
listed complaints by Messianic Jews that their members were denied
entry to Israel and that
anti-missionary groups harassed them. "Problems continued to exist
stemming from the unequal treatment of religious minorities, and from
the State's recognition of only Orthodox Jewish religious authorities
in personal and some civil status matters concerning Jews." The
report expounds on alleged discrimination against non-Jewish spouses of
Jewish immigrants; discriminatory funding in favor of Orthodox schools;
and efforts to legislate civil marriage. The purpose of the report,
according to John Hanford, director of this year's report, is to
encourage, "A careful and continual examination by every
government and society as to whether each person's right to believe as
he or she chooses is fully protected or unnecessarily limited."
|