re: #24 Islamo-Masonic Conspirator

I’m going to assume you mean a modern democracy, or to be more accurate a constitutional republic (as we understand/define “republic” here in the U.S.) I don’t know a lot about other countries’ laws, so I’ll use the U.S. since that’s what I’m most familiar with.

We’re often told that Israel is “like us” in that it’s a democracy, but it really isn’t. Sure, it’s more like us than many/most of its Mideast neighbors, but there is no religious (or ethnic identity) requirement for someone to become an American. Not so in Israel—as I understand it, there are restrictions on who can make aliyah that are based on halakhic definitions of Jewishness determined by the Chief Rabbinate (e.g. matrilineal descent, formal conversion & observance, etc.)

There’s also the issue of laws regarding marriage, divorce, etc. with the current Israeli ones being based on the Ottoman millet marriage system, in which the religious authorities of each community dictate marriage & divorce laws. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, which says it takes its info from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

Religious court verdicts are implemented and enforced - as for the civil court system - by the police, bailiff’s office, and other agencies.

jewishvirtuallibrary.org

There are no civil marriages to speak of, however if two people are both both registered as officially not belonging to any religion, then a civil marriage can be performed. Additionally, Jews aren’t allowed to marry non-Jews (in Israel—AFAIK civil marriages between heterosexual couples performed outside Israel are recognized). More marriage info is available from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.

IMO, Israel would not be able to maintain it’s identity as a Jewish state if there were a strict separation of church & state there. Sure there may be non-observant secular Jews or even atheists who identify themselves as ethnically Jewish, but I think the religion of Judaism is too intricately entwined with Zionism and the state of Israel to allow it to be completely separated from either one in any meaningful political way.

Note: FWIW, the reason I’m interested in how Israel handles things is because (as a Muslim) I’m curious to see if a state that identifies itself with a specific religion can successfully pull off being considered a modern democratic/constitutional republic. I’m guessing probably not.