I
It's not too early to think about
Chanukah gift giving!
Stop in and see Sherwood's
selection of magnificent
judaica from the
Rosenthal Collection.
Complimentary
gift wrapping too!
This holiday
season—
Shop Sherwood
... it's worth it.
World
Under Scrutiny
U.S. looks at Israeli
religious freedom.
Ron Kampeas
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Washington
srael's rating improved
slightly in this year's U.S.
State Department report on
religious freedom, but a closer
reading suggests the Jewish
state should watch the way it
treats minorities — and not
just Israeli Arabs.
The "Israel and Occupied
Territories" chapter in the 2005
International Religious Freedom
Report expands its criticisms of
Israel's treatment of non-
Orthodox Jewish denomina-
tions, and places Israel on
notice that the United States is
monitoring its treatment of
other minorities, including
"messianic Jews" and faiths
practiced by guest workers.
Rabbi David Saperstein, who
directs the Reform movement's
Religious Action Center in
Washington, said his group had
noted an increased interest in
the status of non-Orthodox
Jews in Israel. "I'm glad that the
report reflects that," he said.
"There's no country in the
world where discrimination
against Reform and
Conservative rabbis per se is as
blatant as it is in Israel."
As in 2004, the recent report
finds "no change" in describing
religious freedom inside Israel;
it also found "no change" in the
parts of the West Bank Israel
controls, compared to "deterio-
ration" the previous year.
In addition, the report's
"holding sentences" — which
summarize the essence of the
report — reflect a slight overall
improvement for Israel.
But the "no change" status
does not let Israel off the hook:
Similar to reports from previ-
ous years, the 2005 analysis
I
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Temple Israel and the Detroit Jewish News
are pleased to present a
New Orleans
Firefighters Fund
Benefit Concert
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
7:30 PM at Temple Israel
Hear Cantor Joel Colman from Temple Sinai in New
Orleans, plus cantors and soloists from our community,
as well as a trio of top musicians from New Orleans,
as they join together to raise funds for the
victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Tickets are available for a suggested minimum
donation of $36. All proceeds will benefit
the New Orleans Firefighters Fund.
For tickets, please contact Rachel Hearshen
at 248-661-5700.
says Israel's government "dis-
criminates against non-Jewish
citizens and residents, the vast
majority of whom are Arab
Muslims and Christians, in the
areas of employment, educa-
tion, and housing."
What's new is the treatment
of non-Orthodox Jewish
streams received much greater
emphasis. For instance, the sec-
ond sentence of the 2004 report
reads:
"There was no change in the
status of respect for religious
freedom during the period cov-
ered by this report, and govern-
ment policy continued to con-
tribute to the generally free
practice of religion; however,
there were problems with
regard to equal treatment of
religious minorities!"
Rabbi Saperstein
In this year's report, the same
sentence is expanded with a
reference to the non-Orthodox
streams:
"There was no change in the
status of respect for religious
freedom during the reporting
period, and government policy
continued to contribute to the
generally free practice of reli-
gion; however, problems contin-
ued to exist stemming from the
unequal treatment of religious
November 17 2005
m