Prime Minister Netanyahu,
I wish to congratulate you on your strong stance regarding civil rights and equality in Israel in your recent speech to the AIPAC general assembly*. However, I turn to you regarding the challenge of religious freedom in Israel.
While we are pleased with your strong commitment to the rights of other faiths in Israel, and your intolerance towards discrimination of women, it is difficult difficult to reconcile your statement with the current situation in Israel in which non-Orthodox Jews, whether Reform, Conservative or secular, are denied basic rights such as marriage if they do not conform to Orthodox criteria and rites. This is denigrating to women, discriminating against non-Orthodox and depriving most Jews by Choice of the right to marry in Israel. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens, mostly new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, are denied the right of marriage altogether.
We are proud of Israel’s Declaration of Independence that ensures “freedom of religion and conscience” as well as equality for all. We are encouraged to know that most Israelis wholeheartedly support the realization of that promise. However, it pains us to see how far Israel still is from reaching that goal, consistently ranked lowest in freedom of religion among the world’s democracies.
We ask that you proactively stand for freedom of religion for all, rather than the power of religion for some. We ask you to commit to making your statement* a reality, as it is the will of the Jewish people, both in Israel and abroad.
Thank you.
* "Israel’s fate is to continue to be the forward position of freedom in the Middle East. The only place where minorities enjoy full civil rights; The only place where Arabs enjoy full civil rights. The only place where Christians are free to practice their faith...I will never allow anything to threaten Israel’s democratic way of life. And most especially, I will never tolerate any discrimination against women."
List of signers
Name | City |
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Jessica Fain | Miami |
Uri Regev | Jerusalem |
Davida Chazan | Jerusalem |
Anonymous | Miami, FL |
Lauren B. Simonds, MSW | Seattle |
Pamela Witt | Los Angeles |
E Riley | Irvine |
molle grad | Miami, Fl |
Natasha Rowland | Herzliya |
Leah Gayle Bourne | Lexington, KY USA |
Sarah (Cheryle) Tacher | Jerusalem |
Dimitrios Foulias | Mesa, AZ |
Alison Epstein | Rehovot |
Leah Keller | Lenexa, KS |
Linda Haas-Shapira | Jerusalelm |
Yael Shapira | Washington, DC |
Michael Johnson | London |
Jason Menayan | San Francisco (Calif, USA) |
Russell Cohen | Johannesburg |
Ailsa Wu | Waltham, MA |
Arthur Simon | Detroit |
Moshe Dovid Kaufman | Valley Village,California |
David Shneyer | Rockville |
pam awrach | Lexington,MA |
Susan L. Shevitz | Cambridge, MA, USA |
Rick Moran | New Holland Pa |
JAY SCHNITZER | SAN RAFAEL |
Julia Stevenson | Washington |
Janet Moses | Sarssota |
Philip Kritzman | Chicago |
Name | City |
---|
Hank Skirball | Jerusalem |
Ilana Horowitz Ratner | Jerusalem and Cleveland |
Davida Chazan | Jerusalem |
Arthur Heyman | Atlanta |
Karla Worrell | Richmond VA USA |
Gordon Silverman | Bronx |
Roberta Roos | Dobbs Ferry NY |
Elizabeth Janowitz | Miami |
Debra Frank | Coral Gables, Florida |
Diana | Lerner |
Avital Meron Akrish | Tel Aviv |
Karla Worrell | Richmond VA |
Ann Shepherd | Kansas City |
Leah Keller | Lenexa, KS |
מרטין ססלר | קיבוץ מגן |
Michael Laufer | New York |
Michael Johnson | London |
Steven Beck | Tel Aviv |
Ellyn Bender | Sarasota |
Miriam Simpson | Hamden, CT |
Roberto Gerstenbluth | Bogota - Colombia |
Alfredo Roldan Flores | Newton |
David Shneyer | Rockville |
Zvi Engel | Brooklyn NY |
Steven Beck | Jerusalem |
Paulette Balsam | Amagansett NY |
Barry Williams | Cork - Ireland |
Heidi Abramson | White Plains |
Shahar Ilan | Jerusalem |
Name | City |
---|
Matt Haun | Kansas |
Caryn Noveck | Detroit/New York |
Rabbi Darah Lerner | Bangor me |
Diana Davidson Lerner | San Diego |
Ariel Beery | Tel Aviv |
Mimi Testen | Shaker Heights |
Zohar Nevo | Jerusalem |
Brad Sokol | Miami, Florida |
Dawn Adels Fine | Coral Gables |
Rabbi Adrian Gottfried | Sao Paulo |
E riley | Irvine |
Lori Barnett | Shawnee, Kansas |
Henri Goettel | Independence |
David Gleiser | Bogota, Colombia |
Sam Wolff | Jerusalem |
Michael Johnson | London |
Sarah Tacher | Jerusalem |
Ileana Adriana Stan | Bucharest |
Arthur Heyman | Atlanta |
Rabbi Mark Goldsmith | London UK |
Martinho Faustino Xavier Júnior | João Pessoa/PB/BR |
Robert A. Epstein | Houston |
David Shneyer | Rockville |
Susan Gerstenfeld | Newton |
Mark Bodenstein | Los Angeles |
Ileana Adriana Stan | Bucharest |
H. Anne Hoogasian | Seal Beach |
Nir Lax | Jerusalem, Israel |
Henry Skirball | Jerusalem |