Why isn't Israel a secular state?

Question

Israel claims to be secular, while in-fact it is not.
they don't separate the religion with politics, in-fact most of israeli movements were made to please "G-d".

A user here said that the closer you are to G-d, the more u support israel. and i really found it ironic because Israelis criticize Iran & Saudi Arabia for blending islam with politics while in-fact Israel is blending judaism with everything!

Answer 1

While Strictly they aren't a secular state, they do not use the bible as a legal reference, so the punishments for crimes are different, Also Kashrut on Sabbath have no legal basis in Israel.



Every country has a bit of religion, look at all the countries with Easter or Christmas as a public holiday but some use their bible as a legal reference such as Iran where punishments are very med evil.

Answer 2

Actually, Israel is a secular state.

Most Israeli political parties are, in fact, secular, with a few religious parties. The basic structure of the government, its laws, and its implementation are secular and of the same mold as other Western democracies.

Do you have evidence to the contrary?



And for the record, your "ironic point" is pointless considering that the person in question was merely pointing out who is more likely to support Israel. That is a totally separate issue from the actual makeup of the Israeli government.

Answer 3

It often makes people uncomfortable to refer to Israel as “the Jewish State” because it suggests a theocracy and, therefore, the demise of Israel as a Jewish state is viewed by some people (even in Israel) as a positive development. Israel is not a theocracy; however, it is governed by the rule of law as drafted by a democratically elected parliament. It is informed by Jewish values and adheres to many Jewish religious customs (such as holidays), but this is similar to the United States and other nations that are shaped by the Judeo-Christian heritage and also have expressly religious elements (e.g., church-state separation in the U.S. does not preclude the recognition of Christmas as a holiday).



Israel has no state religion, and all faiths enjoy freedom of worship, yet it is attacked for its Jewish character, whereas the Arab states that all have Islam as their official religion are regarded as legitimate.



The Jewish people are a nation with a shared origin, religion, culture, language, and history. And why shouldn’t the Jewish people have a state? No one suggests that Arabs are not entitled to a nation (and they have not one, but twenty-one) of their own or Swedes or Germans, or that Catholics are not entitled to a state (Vatican City) headed by a theocrat (the Pope). To suggest that Zionism, the nationalist movement of the Jewish people, is the only form of nationalism that is illegitimate is pure bigotry. It is especially ironic that the Jewish nation should be challenged given that Jewish statehood preceded the emergence of most modern nation-states by thousands of years.



It is also not unusual that one community should be the majority within a nation and seek to maintain that status. In fact, this is true in nearly every country in the world. Moreover, societies usually reflect the cultural identity of the majority. India and Pakistan were established at the same time as Israel through a violent partition, but no one believes these nations are illegitimate because one is predominantly Hindu and the other has a Muslim majority, or that these nations shouldn’t be influenced by those communities (e.g., that cows in India should not be treated as sacred).



In the United States, a vigorous debate persists over the boundaries between church and state. Similar discussions regarding “synagogue and state” are ongoing in Israel, with philosophical disagreements over whether Israel can be a Jewish and a democratic state, and practical arguments over Sabbath observance, marriage and divorce laws, and budgets for religious institutions. Nevertheless, most Jews take for granted that Israel is, and must remain, a Jewish state. Arab citizens also understand that Israel is a Jewish state and, while they might prefer that it was not, they have still chosen to live there (nothing prevents Arabs from moving to any of the 180-odd non-Jewish states in the world). Both Jews and Arabs realize that if Jews cease to be a majority in Israel, Israel will no longer have a Jewish character or serve as a haven for persecuted Jews, and that is one of the elements underlying peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Answer 4

What?



Most Israelis hate religion because they know religion is foolish if you take it seriously. I could be wrong. It was me who said it and I said the word Israel is derived from yasher and El meaning close or straight to god. Israelis do criticize Iran, but not Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is OK because it is Bedouin and that is their culture. Iran kills homosexuals, wait they call them sex crimes. Israel has one of the biggest homosexual populations and it does not hurt them. Why do you write G-D and not god. I thought that was only a Jewish thing. Also why do you prefer this account to Haifa?

Answer 5

If you don't live in Israel, what difference does it make to you what kind of government they have? If you don't like their government, don't move there.



Besides, I wouldn't call what Saudi Arabia and Iran have "blending" religion with politics, it's more like a sprinkling of politics on top of their religion for appearance sake, kind of like sprinkling paprika on top of a deviled egg. It looks pretty, but the deviled egg is still a deviled egg.

Answer 6

Israel is an earthly parliamentary democracy with time-honored suffrage. i'm uncertain why you may contemplate whether an earthly/nationalis state is with out righteousness--many of the worst countries interior the international have been theocracies. Peace

Answer 7

Do you see Christians being killed because of Christ? NO they are a big part of the economy.

Are women forbidden to live a normal productive life? No they can run the country.

Could you go there and live in peace? Yes.

It's a very secular country who needs to devote more time to God.

Like America.

Answer 8

DOES ANY OTHER ISLAMIC COUNTRY IN THE MID EAST SEPARATE RELIGION WITH POLITICS!!!!!!!!?????



in Israel, Everyone is treated equally no matter their religion, unlike many other islamic controlled gov's. In many islamic controlled governments, ''non - believers''..aka christians and jews are not even allowed to participate in politics,which is not giving them equal rights and in turn basically de-humanizing them. Also,in many islamic controlled governments it is a law for women to cover their hair. I dont want to know what would happen to them if they go out with shorts.I could go on and on. It is not peaceful. However in Israel, religion is in-corperated in a peaceful way with decency. Its a democracy and everyone is allowed freedom of speech and to express themselves.



This question is plain stupid-for lack of a better word. Your hypocrisy and bias is disgusting.

Answer 9

Israel is a secular democracy

If Its not how would you explain this?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-1BUmbdC9A



Not to sound pompous but i now have a 100% track record.I have destroyed every one of your arguments and on more than one occasion caused you to delete the question entirely.

Answer 10

Here are a few facts for you honey.



1. In Israel two people of any religion can get married. A Jewish woman can get married to a Muslim man, even though it's against Jewish beliefs.

In the entire Muslim world a non-Muslim man may not touch a Muslim woman. This is a flagrant violation of Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution."



2. In Israel anyone may convert to any religion. A Jew may become a Muslim in the only "Jewish State" in the world. In the entire Muslim world anyone who rejects Islam is in danger and in 7 Muslim countries could be executed by the State. This is a flagrant violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."



3. There is no Israeli law against a non-Jewish head of state or government. Theodore Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, wrote that it would not be unthinkable for the "Jewish State" to have an Arab minority President or Prime Minister.

The Constitutions of many Muslim countries dictate that the head of state and/or government must be a Muslim. This is a flagrant violation of Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, DIRECTLY or through freely chosen representatives."



4. 19.4% of Israeli citizens are Arab Muslim Palestinians with equal rights but lesser duties. They are exempt from military service. Arabic is an official language in Israel, and there are Islamic family courts and an awqaf authority.

Muhammad on his deathbed told Omar that two religions could not coexist in Arabia. In Saudi Arabia up to this day non-Muslims are refused citizenship, even if they have lived there for many years. Saudi Arabia has 5 million non-Muslim workers and still states that it is 100% Muslim. This is a flagrant violation of Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 15.

"Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality."



5. Israel is the only country in the Middle East to ban the death penalty. Samir Kuntar was imprisoned for, among other murders, killing a four-year-old Israeli girl by bashing her skull on a boulder. While in prison he studied for a bachelor's degree in sociology from Tel Aviv University.

Muslim countries implement flogging, stoning to death, beheading with a sword, and hand amputation as punishments for different crimes, as "God's law." This is a flagrant violation of Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Answer 11

The thing is that the you talk about that the isreali government mixes with politics isn't the real judiasm. just so you know

Answer 12

why would Israel be a secular state?



They are a Jewish state



Like Paksitan and Saudi are Islamic states...