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On May 14, 2001, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued an addendum to its second annual report (http://www.uscirf.gov) released on May 1st. It is of special interest because it actually includes a dissent on the USCIRF's refusal to include Israeli abuses of religious freedom in the initial report and outlines evidence that Israel is in fact violating the religious freedom of Muslims and Christians in the Occupied Territories. Unfortunately, the discussion centering on Israel is the work of a lone commissioner, fighting a conspiracy of silence. To fully appreciate this state of affairs, it is helpful to know the genesis of the Commission itself.
The USCIRF is a product of the U.S. Congress. It was created in response to intense lobbying from Christian Evangelical groups concerned about restrictions on proselytization, especially in Muslim countries, and in coordination with a coalition of ex-Cold Warriors and Zionists seeking a tool to use against China and the Muslim world, whose potential alliance is a "threat" which Samuel Huntington warned of in his infamous article in Foreign Affairs. The Commission issues an annual report in May, which should not be confused (although often is) with the somewhat more balanced annual report issued in September by the U.S. Department of State.
An effort by Muslims at the time of its creation resulted in the appointment of Dr. Laila Al-Marayati to the Commission. Dr. Al-Marayati, appointed by former U.S. president Bill Clinton, was the only American-Muslim in Mrs. Clinton's delegation to the International Women's Conference in Beijing, and had previously served on the State Department's Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad.
Dr. Al-Marayati survived a Zionist smear campaign at the beginning of her appointment that sought to remove her from the Commission and to this day remains its only Muslim commissioner. The arguments used against this Palestinian-American woman, accusing her of being an extremist, were absurd and al-hamdullilah did not prevail. However, the real reason for the Zionists' frenzy is now apparent. Her contribution to the addendum calls into question Israel's violations and the fact that it has not been held accountable to the standards the commission is charged with upholding.
A delegation from the Commission traveled to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel. That their reports on the status of religious freedom in these three close American allies were placed in an appendix to the main report makes apparent one aspect of the double standard: Oppose America's geopolitical ambitions and your opinions will be marginalized. It is clear that in the case of Israel, the Commissioners, save Dr. Al-Marayati, did not want the persecution of Muslim and Christian Palestinians exposed at all, not even as a sideshow. As Dr. Al-Marayati states in the opening paragraph of her dissent, "The Commission decided that no statement should be issued regarding Israel and the Occupied Territories."
The Commission professed that its reason for silence is due to the, "complexity of the situation" and "differences of opinion." Yet the Commission does not hesitate to give Sudan prime consideration in its analyses, despite a situation even more complex due to the complications of tribal factors in their ongoing civil war. As for the "differences of opinion," let's face the facts: There are virtually no differences in agreement when it comes to the Commission holding Israel to the same standards as other countries. Neither the Zionists, who support the philosophy of Jewish Supremacy which lies at the heart of Israel's apartheid system, nor the Evangelicals, who see Israel as having a special divinely ordained place in the historical approach to a millennial apocalypse, have any reason to hold Israel to the same standard as other countries they conceive deny Israel's "special status."
As for the report itself, Dr. Al-Marayati has not abused the special status that her position as sole author of the dissent might have conferred upon her. She has restricted her observations to issues actually covered during the trip, pre-trip discussions, and the State Department's annual report. Thus, many well-documented violations (including Israeli torture of American citizens) are absent from her report. The members of the Commission who visited Israel were under constraints putatively due to increased violence and the Israeli bombardment of the Occupied Territories. This prevented them from visiting the Occupied Territories and likewise prevented some potential witnesses from traveling to them. Despite these constraints, Dr. Al-Marayati has presented a concise and systematic presentation of such issues as can be understood from these limited sources. She divides the discussion into two parts: (1) status of citizens of Israel and (2) conditions faced by Palestinians in the Occupied Territories
(West Banza, and East Jerusalem).
Within Israel, there is de jure and de facto discrimination among the Jews themselves. For Muslims and Christians, the situation is even worse as they are considered non-nationals. In addition to discrimination in regards to government funding of maintenance of holy places, permission for private restoration of such sites is routinely refused. The Law of Return which grants automatic right to citizenship to Jews born anywhere in the world at the same time denies Palestinians who were expelled from their homes in Palestine in 1948 or 1967 any right to return at all, for no other reason other than…they are not Jewish.
An issue that is of grave concern to Evangelicals as far as Muslim countries are concerned, are legal and other barriers to proselytism that exist in Israel. Although Dr. Al-Marayati observes that the law in Israel does not seem to be enforced, it is nonetheless the case that harassment and occasional assault of missionaries has, at least until recently, gone un-prosecuted. Dr. Al-Marayati adds that a "significant number of Christians and Muslims with whom the Commission delegation met described the "dispute" over the new mosque in Nazareth as being, "exploited by the Israeli government actions in which religion is being exploited as a source of division between Muslims and Christians."
Of course, the situation in the Occupied Territories is even worse. In East Jerusalem, Christians and Muslims, denied building permits on their own property, are subject to house demolitions, and are in constant jeopardy of having their "permanent resident" status revoked. Yet, the acquisition of property by Israeli Jews is unimpeded (indeed facilitated) even in the Muslim and Christian quarters, while Muslims and Christians are prevented from taking up residence in the Jewish quarter. Closure is systematically used to deny Muslims and Christians access to their holy places and Christian clergy are prevented from reaching their parishioners. The impoverishing effects of closure are resulting in the closing of religious schools, as parents are becoming unable to afford tuition. Since October 2000, all Muslim men under the age of 45 are prohibited from worshipping at the Haram ash-Sharif on Fridays.
There are some additional concerns expressed by Dr. Al-Marayati. Since October 2000, few, if any, arrests have been made in connection with attacks on Christian and Muslim holy sites, and the Israeli military itself has "engaged in violence against holy sites."
In her conclusion, Dr. Al-Marayati makes eight recommendations by which the U.S. government could urge Israel to obey international law and end religious discrimination. That other members of the Commission should hesitate to be a party to this moderate call for tolerance goes beyond the pale of justice and fairness and calls into question the motives behind the creation of the Commission and the Congress that created it.
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