Fighting religious coercion

22/07/18

Only hours after the Knesset passed the racist and theocratic “Nation-State” bill into law, police officers in Haifa dragged a Conservative rabbi in for questioning - because he dared to defy the Chief Rabbinate and led an alternative wedding ceremony.Thousands of Zazim members in Israel and abroad joined the campaign in order to put an end to this shameful behavior - and sent a message to President Reuven Rivlin: Israel must be a democratic and pluralistic society!With the Nation-State law, the Israeli government made the racism and discrimination official. The far-right government and the Orthodox religious establishment are trying to exclude anyone who is not Jewish enough for them: Arab citizens, the LGBTQ community, Reform and Conservative Jews, and on and on.And now the police is falling in line behind the government’s extreme and racist laws. But we can’t back down. Thousands of Israeli citizens and Zazim members all over the world called on the national police chief to drop all charges against Rabbi Dubi Hayun, and on President Rivlin to stand up to the Rabbinate’s extremist coercion.The last couple of weeks brought an onslaught of racist and discriminatory legislation. But our community is at the forefront of the opposition: Whether through standing up against anti-Arab racism, fighting for religious pluralism, or joining tens of thousands in protesting homophobic legislation - we will continue fighting for a more just, pluralistic, and democratic society - until we win.