Poll: Israeli Jews oppose minaret ban

[toomuchtime_]

Jewish Israelis oppose a Swiss-style ban on mosque minarets in the country, with opposition to the restriction highest among right-wing and haredi Jews, according to a poll conducted in late December and early January.

The respondents opposed such a measure by 43 percent to 28%, with 29% undecided.

Five hundred Israeli Jews were questioned by Jerusalem-based KEEVOON Research, for the US-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

In November, a 57.5% majority of Swiss voters approved a referendum outlawing the construction of minarets, though the construction of mosques remains legal.

According to Mitchell Barak, director of KEEVOON, the new poll found that opposition to a minaret ban is strongest among religious and right-leaning Jews.

Respondents who considered themselves "national-religious" opposed such a ban by 72% to 16%, with 55% saying they were "strongly opposed". The ultra-Orthodox opposed the measure by 53% to 21%, with declining opposition among secular (42% to 29%) and "traditional" (36% to 31%) Jews.

The survey demonstrated that "when it comes to freedom of religion, Israelis are apparently much more tolerant than their Swiss counterparts," according to Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

"There is a definite correlation between religious observance and tolerance towards Islam... The fact that less than one-third of all Israelis support banning minarets indicates that from the Israeli point of view, there is room for respectful coexistence between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs when it is based on religion and not politics."

Israeli Jews oppose Swiss-style minaret ban | Israel | Jerusalem Post

 

[al Haq]

Israel doesn't need to waste its time with silly "bans." It has been using far more effective means for decades.

By the early 19th century, Palestine had thousands of mosques and Muslim holy places. Hundreds of them in what became the State of Israel were destroyed by Zionist terror groups and/or the Israeli army - some 600 between 1948-1950.

Just last January, dozens of mosques were destroyed by the Israeli assault on Gaza.

And hundreds more mosques and holy places in what is now Israel have been appropriated so that they could be turned into restaurants, art galleries, private homes, etc.

Others were simply left to crumble after the local Palestinian populations were driven out, even used as cow pens.

Israeli Arab efforts to repair or renovate historic mosques in Israel are often blocked by military court orders, and the properties declared "closed military areas."

It's difficult enough for Israeli Arabs to get building permits to build a home or add on a room; much less build a new mosque with a minaret.