Secularism in Israel

Since 1922, many official documents originating in the land of Israel gave rise to religious freedom. In 1922, the Palestinian Mandate prohibited discrimination based on religious affiliation. In 1948, at the establishment of the state of Israel, the Declaration of Independence again protects freedom of religion.[3] The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel was approved by members of the Jewish community of Palestine and the Zionist movement. The documents first section sheds light on the relationship between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.[4] It reads: "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here, their spiritual, religious, and political identity was shaped." The history of the Jews establishing the State of Israel is long. The right of the Jewish people to settle in the land was recognized in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution that called for a Jewish state to be established in Eretz Israel on November 29, 1947.[5]

Theodor Herzl when he first proposed his ideas of political Zionism, was expecting the future Jewish state to be a secular state, in the style of central European countries of the time such as Germany and Austria. However, Zionist and eventually Israeli politics were always very Coalition based, and when David Ben-Gurion became the first Prime minister of Israel, although he was the head of the large Socialist party, he formed a government that included the Religious-Jewish Parties, and took a moderate line in forming the relationship between the state and the Religious institutions, At the same time continuing their status as state organs. Some secular Israelis feel constrained by the strict religious sanctions imposed on them. Many businesses close on Shabbat, including EL AL, Israel's leading airline, along with many forms of public transportation, and restaurants.[2]

In Israel, the secularism of population centers varies. Tel Aviv, for example, is considered more secular; it is very cosmopolitan, with modern hotels, boutiques, coffee shops, and events with loud music. Non-Jews and secular Jews alike feel comfortable in this city because of the lack of religious bearing. Tel Aviv is a modern city similar to a coastal city in the United States like Miami,[9] and is considered one of the top party cities in the world. It is typical to find bars and night clubs open until dawn, even on Shabbat.[10] Conversely, Jerusalem is a very religious, conservative city, with a large Orthodox Jewish (Religious Zionists, as well as Ultra-Orthodox) population.

The Jewish population of Israel can be divided into three groups: Orthodox, Traditional, and Secular. Secular Jews make up 41.4% of the Jewish population, followed by the Traditional Jews accounting for 38.5% of the population, with the remaining 20% populated by the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox. In Israel, the Reform and Conservative movements are estimated to make up 7.6% of the Jewish population,[11] a significantly lower rate compared to the Jewish diaspora.

In 1949, Israel became part of the United Nations.[21] When a state becomes part of the United Nations, the state adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the Declaration, there are many instances that reflect a country's need for religious freedom. The Preamble of the Declaration states that it is "a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations". In the Declaration, both articles 2 and 18 reference freedom of religion. In article 2, it states that everyone is entitled to all the rights, without any distinction such as religion. Article 18 states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and has the right to show their religion in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.[22]

In Israel, to be considered legally Jewish by the rabbinate, a person must have a Jewish mother or convert to Judaism. This excludes a large portion of the immigrant population that moved to Israel from the former Soviet Union and many parts of Europe, and had previously identified as Jewish even though they did not have a Jewish mother. This part of the population accounts for around 320,000 people who serve in the Israeli Defense Forces and celebrate Jewish holidays.[6]

Israel legally recognizes thirteen non-Jewish religious communities, each of which practice their own religious family law. The largest religious minority population is the Muslim community of Israel, and it amounts to 17.3% of the overall population.[23] The Muslim communities live mostly in the northern part of the country. The Orthodox Jewish and the Sunni Muslim population have the highest population growth of all communities in Israel.[24] They are free under the law to vote, practice religion, be members of the Israeli parliament, and can use the same Israeli education system as the rest of the country, although the education system is de facto mostly bifurcated into Jewish and non-Jewish schools (see Education in Israel). Many Arabs are a part of the Israeli government and politics.[25] Almost one 10th of the parliament are Arab, and there is a mosque in the parliament building (Knesset) for those who are Muslim. A Supreme Court justice and a minister of the Israeli cabinet are also Arab Muslims. Muslims, as well as most other religious minorities, are not required to serve in the army.

The next-largest minority population is the Christian population (2%), some of whom live with Jewish communities.[6] Rather than have their own education and medical institutions, they have integrated into state institutions. The Christian population in Israel is the only Christian population in the Middle East that has grown in the last half century. Christians choose to live in Israel because they have freedom of speech and the freedom to practice religion.[26]

• Yishai Blank, In Search of the Secular. In: Institutionalizing Rights and Religion: Competing Supremacies. Cambridge University Press, 2017.