Freedom of religion in israel

Shavuot and Mount Sinai: Why modern Jews still wrestle with the Torah

The debate over Torah from Sinai may depend less on proof than on the condition of the soul.

Scribe Nadav Elhadad writes a Torah scroll at Safed’s Mount Sinai Institute, in Feb.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the general Conference of Fatah Youth in Ramallah, with a backdrop including a portrait of Abbas and Yasser Arafat, November 27, 2025; illustrative.

PA drafts constitution, omits Jewish ties to Jerusalem, calls for Sharia legal system

SIMCHAT TORAH at the Gush Etzion junction.

Simchat Torah: Divine fire and national legacy

 Muslims pray on the first Friday of Ramadan, at the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem's Old City, March 7, 2025

Police on guard as tens of thousands of Muslims hold Ramadan prayers on Temple Mount


The reform Israel needs is not part of Yariv Levin's plan - opinion

The opportunity for real change is upon us and the demand for a constitution is being expressed. It will take time, but the process has finally begun.

 OUR CONSTITUTION should make the official languages of Israel – Hebrew and Arabic. Communities should no longer have the right to bar someone from a different community living in their midst, says the writer.

Netanyahu assures no law against Christians after missionary bill outrage

Evangelical Christian groups have supported the Zionist cause in various capacities for decades, and have close relationships with Israeli institutions.

 Head of the Finance committee MK Moshe Gafni leads a Finance committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 17, 2023.

Imam aims to build bridges with ‘People of the Book’

Sheikh Hassen Chalghoumi: ‘I come here to encourage others to work with me to build solidarity between all people."

 Sheikh Hassen Chalghoumi (left) receiving his badge from Aharon Azoulay, head of Hamifrats

Do not alienate those who disagree with you politically

Compromise is necessary to preserve solidarity between us.

 A DEBATE gets stormy in the Knesset this week. The mutual denial and accusations of malicious intentions must be replaced with a willingness to listen and understand each other’s grievances, says the writer.

US gov't commission ‘seeks assurances’ for status quo of Jerusalem holy sites

The commission said it had recorded an increase in the targeting of churches, mosques, and synagogues, as well as religious sites.

A priest shows a gravestone allegedly vandalized by Jewish men in the Christian cemetery on Mount Zion, in the Old City of Jerusalem, January 4, 2023.

Israel: A Jewish democracy or religious state? - opinion

The Israeli government should strike a balance between the demands made by the ultra-Orthodox sectors and the needs of Israeli citizens in general.

 BNEI BRAK: The combination of ultra-Orthodox large families who are unemployed, lack a regular income and the basic education required for knowledge and occupation, has led to extensive poverty among this sector, says the writer.

The Western Wall bill was a costly mistake by Netanyahu's gov't - analysis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to criticisms often shows how serious of a threat he views them.

 Benjamin Netanyahu visits at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, the night before the Israeli general elections, October 31, 2022

Remembering a mentor, friend and peacemaker, Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa

Shaikh Khalid died this past Friday, January 27th, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

  Rabbi Abraham Cooper meets Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, on Hanukkah, December 2017.

Mainstream religious Zionist rabbi appointed head of Conversion Authority

A new head of the Conversion Authority has been appointed by the Prime Minister's Office.

 The building of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is located in Jerualem.

Israel's High Court protects people from across the political spectrum - opinion

The legal reforms will remove barriers to misuse of power and open the door for more criminals to enter politics and destroy the state.

 THE HIGH Court ruled that regulations arbitrarily preventing anyone under 21 from receiving compensation for the 2005 Gaza eviction did not comply with the proportionality requirement of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.