U.S. State Department: Israel is not a tolerant society By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz

U.S. State Department: Israel is not a tolerant society
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz, November 6, 2009

Israel dismally fails the requirements of a tolerant pluralistic
society, according to a new report from the U.S. State Department.
[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127349.htm]

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.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1126286.html