Qualche stralcio del 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom, nella parte che riguarda Israele. Il rapporto proviene dal Dipartimento di stato americano, nello specifico dal sottosegretariato “for Democracy and Global Affairs”. Molto dettagliato
The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law applies to holy sites of all religious groups within the country and in all of Jerusalem, but the Government implements regulations only for Jewish sites. Non-Jewish holy sites do not enjoy legal protection under it because the Government does not recognize them as official holy sites. At the end of 2008, there were 137 designated holy sites, all of which were Jewish. Furthermore, the Government has drafted regulations to identify, protect, and fund only Jewish holy sites. While well-known sites have de facto protection as a result of their international importance, many Muslim and Christian sites are neglected, inaccessible, or threatened by property developers and municipalities. The Christian pilgrimage sites around the Sea of Galilee face periodic threats of encroachment from district planners who want to use parts of their properties for recreation. In the past, only diplomatic interventions have forestalled such efforts. Such sites do, however, enjoy certain protections under the general Penal Law (criminal code), which makes it a criminal offense to damage any holy site. Following a 2007 order by the High Court to explain its unequal implementation of the 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law, the Government responded in March 2008 that specific regulations were not necessary for the protection of any holy sites. The Government did not explain why it therefore promulgated regulations for Jewish sites but not for non-Jewish sites.
(…)
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
Government policy continued to support the generally free practice of religion, although government discrimination against non-Jews and non-Orthodox streams of Judaism continued.
For example, the Government continued to discriminate against non-Orthodox Jewish citizens through some policies based on Orthodox Jewish interpretations of religious law. Many Jewish citizens objected to exclusive Orthodox control over fundamental aspects of their personal lives. Approximately 310,000 citizenswho immigrated under the Law of Return but are not considered Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate cannot be married, divorced, or buried in Jewish cemeteries within the country. A 1996 law requiring the Government to establish civil cemeteries remained inadequately implemented.
Restrictions on access to non-Jewish religious sites, as well as limits on funding and protection of those sites, also contributed to religious tensions. While officially legal, some missionaries continued to face harassment and discrimination from some local government officials.
During Jewish holidays, following terrorist attacks, and in response to other potential threats, the Government imposed closures to restrict travel for the stated purpose of providing security. These closures impeded access to holy sites in Israel, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.
During the reporting period, members of many religious groups traveled to the country freely. However, according to representatives of Christian institutions, visa issuance rates for some of their religious workers remained low. Continuing a policy enacted in October 2007, the Interior Ministry refused to grant multiple-entry visas for members of the clergy and other religious workers seeking to travel to and between their parishes in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Clergy who wished to return to or visit their parishes and congregations were required to apply for new, single-entry visas at Israeli consulates abroad, a process that could take months. Following an unsuccessful appeal by the Vatican in advance of Pope Benedict XVI’s May 2009 visit to the country, the Interior Ministry stated that multiple-entry visas for clergy and other religious workers constituted a security threat and would not be issued.
(…)
According to government figures, the 2008 budget for religious services and religious institutions for the Jewish population was approximately 1.6 billion shekels ($457 million). Religious minorities, which constituted slightly more than 20 percent of the population, received approximately 65 million shekels ($18.6 million), or just less than 4 percent of total funding.
The Supreme Court ruled on March 9, 2009 that implementing regulations to protect Islamic holy sites are unnecessary. In its ruling, the court registered the Government’s commitment to provide annual funding of $526,000 (2 million shekels), and dismissed–on the strength of the Government’s commitment–the 2004 petition of the Arab-Israeli legal advocacy group Adalah that implementing regulations were required. Adalah had charged that all of the locations designated as holy sites were Jewish and that the Government’s failure to draft implementing regulations to protect non-Jewish sites had resulted in the desecration and their conversion to other uses of individual Muslim sites. In August 2007 the Supreme Court had directed the Government to explain its failure to protect Islamic holy sites and provide funds for their maintenance.