Freedom of religion in israel

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

The draft constitution also called for the "right of return" for refugees, caring for families of "martyrs, prisoners, and exiles," and reaffirming the PLO's position as representing Palestinians.

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.
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

 A WOMAN walks in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. The Armenians in Jerusalem are one of the smallest and most vulnerable communities; they are neither Palestinian nor Israeli and have no interest in being dragged into the ongoing conflict, says the writer.

Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter under threat: Urgent call for protection - opinion


Analysis: Unyielding religious establishment threatens to be its own undoing

Slowly but surely, the conflict between democratic rights, and the legally enshrined monopoly of one Jewish denomination over religious life in Israel is being chipped away.

Chief rabbis of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Rabbi Arye Stern

Conversion victory

We recommend that the present government maintain that policy of keeping the question of “Who is a Jew” out of the hands of a bunch of ultra-conservative, politically connected rabbis.

Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef at the Western Wall

Jerusalem Municipality to fund pluralist and non-Orthodox religious study groups

Despite the haredi opposition, several of the ultra-Orthodox council representatives absented themselves from the vote.

HANAN RUBIN

I Need A Favor

The Jerusalem Post

Wanted: Spiritual leaders

The Chief Rabbinate must face the reality: Israel is not a religious state. That may be unfortunate, but it is a reality.

WHO WILL guide this man? The author argues we need better spiritual leaders.

A-G: Knesset bill restricting mikve use is unconstitutional

The bill passed a preliminary reading last week and has been put forward by haredi parties in the Knesset.

A mikve, the Jewish ritual bath [Illustrative]

THINK ABOUT IT: Unjustified hatred

In the Knesset plenum, whose verbatim minutes appear on the Knesset website within an hour of a speech being delivered, MK Bezalel Smotrich branded their religious beliefs and practices “a lie.”

A mikve, the Jewish ritual bath [Illustrative]

Western Wall rabbi calls for ban on non-Orthodox prayer at Kotel

It is likely therefore that the rabbi’s letter is intended as a way of distancing himself from the plan, which he reluctantly agreed to during indirect negotiations.

A Jewish worshipper prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City

Jerusalem Post Editorial: The Kotel and a constitution

Israelis society’s failure to agree on basic principles with regard to religious expression and the limits of rabbinic powers will remain a source of conflict for the foreseeableop future.

Women of the Wall at the Kotel

Maslul project to spur conversion in FSU before aliya

The state conversion course comprises 400 study hours, and conversion candidates in Russia and Ukraine would be able to complete as many as 180 hours before coming to Israel.

Rabbi Chaim Iram, head of the Maslul Project