42 Israelis have petitioned the High Court of Justice to be registered
as “persons of no religion” in protest of the haredi stranglehold over
marriage, divorce, conversion and burial for Israeli Jews and as a
statement of freedom from religion and religious coercion.
Originally published at 11:07 pm CST 12-20-2012
42 Israelis Petition High Court To Be Declared “Persons Of No Religion”
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Ynet reports that 42 Israelis have petitioned the High Court of Justice to be registered as “persons of no religion” in protest of the haredi stranglehold over marriage, divorce, conversion and burial for Israeli Jews and as a statement of freedom from religion and religious coercion.
The petitioners include journalist Yaron London and his partner author Michal Zamir, former Deputy Commander of the Israeli Air Force Amos Amir, Professor Eyal Gross and poet Oded Carmeli.
London and the other petitioners want the right to change their status through a simple procedure that would require either a request made by a petitioner to the Interior Ministry or a declaration submitted by a petitioner’s attorney to the Interior Ministry. Either would state that the petitioner does not practice a religion and does not follow the religious laws of any specific religion.
They want to be listed as “persons of no religion” in the population census, and want to be issued a public certificate as a substitute for the conversion certificates issued to converts by Israel’s recognized religions: Judaism, represented by the haredi-controled Rabbinate; various Christian churches; and Islam’s Shari'a court.
The petition described the long path taken by author Yoram Kaniuk, who requested that the Interior Ministry change his listing from "Jewish" to "person of no religion.” Kaniuk’s request was denied due to a lack of a public certificate. The Tel Aviv District Court eventually found a loophole in the law last year and approved Kaniuk’s request.
The Interior Ministry contends that each individual seeking to change his religious status to a “person of no religion” must go to court to achieve that change.
The petitioners argue that this change a right that “is anchored in Israel’s Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, and involves freedom of – or from – worship and religious coercion.