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Religious Freedom in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Selected Issues a Report to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

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Religious Freedom in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Selected Issues a Report to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Religious Freedom in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Selected Issues A Report to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Palestine Works Editors Omar Yousef Shehabi Dr. Sara Husseini Hady Matar Emma Borden Contributors Jessica Boulet Dario D'Ambrosio Lojain al-Mouallimi John Pino Helena van Roosbroeck Andrew Udelsman Licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Copyright © 2016 Palestine Works All rights reserved. ISBN: 0692688242 ISBN-13: 978-0692688243 Published by Palestine Works Inc. 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, 10th Floor Washington, District of Columbia 20009 United States of America PALESTINE WORKS Palestine Works is a U.S.-based §501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2012 to promote Palestinian human rights and human development. Our vision is a Palestinian society that can enjoy the improved prospects and economic, social and political benefits of a strong economy, one powered by the development and deployment of Palestinian human capital. Our mission is to help realize this vision by engaging, developing and harnessing the expertise of young professionals through the creation of high-impact knowledge exchange opportunities, including internships, legal advocacy projects, conferences, publications and networking. CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 Part One: Extending Ethnoreligious Control over Mandatory Palestine 2 Ethnoreligious Citizenship in the Israeli Control System 15 3 Maximalist Jewish Claims to Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound/ 42 Temple Mount 4 Discriminatory and Inadequate Protection of non-Jewish 60 Holy Places 5 Restrictions on Clergy Visas 66 Part Two: Preserving the System of Ethnoreligious Control 6 Facilitating Public and Private Discrimination through 79 National IDs that Disclose Religious Affiliation 7 Orthodox Control over Personal Status Matters of non- 87 Orthodox Jews 8 Discouraging Proselytism and Failing to Prevent 104 Harassment by Anti-Assimilation and Anti-Miscegenation Groups Part Three: Promoting the Fragmentation of Arab Palestinian Identity 9 Violating Arab Palestinian Minority Rights by Recognizing 125 an Aramean Nationality 10 Denying Palestinian Druze Citizens of Israel the Right to 139 Conscientiously Object to Serving Against Other Arab Palestinians 11 Conclusion 153 DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 CONTEXT ............................................................................................................. 3 ISSUES SELECTED AND ANALYZED ................................................................. 3 STANDING ........................................................................................................... 5 SCOPE OF REPORT .............................................................................................. 5 Scope of Israeli Responsibility ..................................................................... 5 Palestinian Duty-Bearers ............................................................................... 7 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 7 APPLICABLE LAW ............................................................................................... 9 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) ............................. 9 International Law ......................................................................................... 10 Israeli Law ..................................................................................................... 12 ETHNORELIGIOUS CITIZENSHIP IN THE ISRAELI CONTROL SYSTEM ......................................................................... 15 LEGAL STANDARD ........................................................................................... 17 Human Rights Law ...................................................................................... 17 USCIRF precedent ...................................................................................... 18 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 20 Jewish Israelis, Arab Palestinians, and Religious Identity ...................... 20 Citizenship and Nationality in Israel ......................................................... 22 Segregated Citizenship Regimes for Jews and non-Jews ....................... 24 Family Reunification Ban: Reinforcing Ethnoreligious Citizenship .... 29 Dispossession of Palestinian Land through Jewish Parastatal Organizations ............................................................................................... 33 Discrimination Against Palestinian Citizens through the Proxy of Military Service ............................................................................................. 40 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 41 MAXIMALIST JEWISH CLAIMS TO AL-AQSA MOSQUE COMPOUND/TEMPLE MOUNT .................................................. 42 LEGAL STANDARD ........................................................................................... 45 International Humanitarian Law ............................................................... 45 Status quo legal principles .......................................................................... 46 Human Rights Law ...................................................................................... 48 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 49 PALESTINE WORKS Israeli violations and threats against the status quo ................................ 49 State Support of Temple Movements ....................................................... 55 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 59 DISCRIMINATORY AND INADEQUATE PROTECTION OF NON-JEWISH HOLY PLACES ....................................................... 60 LEGAL STANDARD ........................................................................................... 60 Human Rights Law ...................................................................................... 60 USCIRF Precedent ...................................................................................... 62 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 63 Protection and Registration of Jewish and Non-Jewish Holy Places under the Protection of Holy Places Law, 1967 ..................................... 63 Lack of Legal Recognition of non-Jewish Holy Places Permits the Destruction of Muslim Holy Places .......................................................... 64 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 65 RESTRICTIONS ON CLERGY VISAS ............................................ 66 LEGAL STANDARD ........................................................................................... 67 Human Rights Law ...................................................................................... 67 USCIRF Precedent ...................................................................................... 69 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 69 Israeli Visa Provisions ................................................................................. 69 Interference in Religious Activities ........................................................... 70 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 77 FACILITATING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DISCRIMINATION THROUGH NATIONAL IDS THAT DISCLOSE RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION ................................................................................... 79 LEGAL STANDARD ........................................................................................... 80 Human Rights Law ...................................................................................... 80 USCIRF Precedent ...................................................................................... 81 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 81 Religious Identification Facilitates Segregation ....................................... 83 Religious Identification Facilitates Other Private Discrimination ....... 83 Religious Identification Facilitates Secondary Rights Violations ......... 84 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 86 vi RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY ORTHODOX CONTROL OVER PERSONAL STATUS MATTERS OF NON-ORTHODOX JEWS ...................................... 87 LEGAL STANDARD ........................................................................................... 88 Human Rights Law ...................................................................................... 88 USCIRF Precedent ...................................................................................... 91 ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 94 Background ..................................................................................................
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