Join our Community
Support ToI and remove all ads
Learn more
×

freedom of religion

Illustrative: Meat and vegetables are seen on a grill during an Israeli Independence Day barbecue in the Golan Heights town of Katzrin, May 1, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
April 16, 2026, 11:49 pm
Border Police officers sent to jail for barbecuing on base over Shabbat
Punishment of four medics for ‘harming religion and Judaism’ reportedly reduced from two weeks to one following uproar from parents and politicians
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: A family celebrates Hanukkah. (Drazen Zigic/iStock Images)
December 17, 2025, 5:24 pm
Study shows 76% of Americans raised as Jews continue to be Jewish as adults
Nationwide, 56% of all Americans still identify with their childhood religion; Jews cite different reasons than other groups in Pew survey
By Zev Stub
In 'The Great Christmas Boycott of 1906,' Scott D. Seligman reconstructs how a seemingly local dispute in one Brooklyn school exploded into a test case for religious freedom and civic belonging. (Nebraska University Press via JTA)
November 19, 2025, 4:34 am
How at the turn of the century, American Jews really did wage a ‘war on Christmas’
A new book by historian Scott D. Seligman recalls the ‘The Great Christmas Boycott of 1906,’ when immigrants fought for the separation of church and state in public schools
By Andrew Silow-Carroll
The building of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel in Jerusalem. (Flash90)
October 19, 2025, 11:46 pm
Coalition advances bill mandating mezuzahs, allowing Orthodox rituals in public spaces
Bill sparks outrage at idea of foisting Jewish Orthodox practices on public; proposed clause requiring religious tests for judges, giving new powers to rabbinic courts dropped
By Ariela Karmel and Rossella Tercatin
A reenactment of the American Revolution's Battle of Great Bridge takes place in Chesapeake, Virginia, December 8, 2024. (iStock photos/ Bill Chizek)
April 18, 2025, 5:11 pm
How Jewish patriots in the US Revolutionary War helped shape the First Amendment
In new book ‘A Promised Land,’ history professor Adam Jortner looks at the role of Jews – then just 0.1% of the population – in fighting for independence and forging America
By Rich Tenorio
Muhsin Hendricks, 'the world's first openly gay imam,' speaks in a 2023 interview. (Screen capture via YouTube, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
February 16, 2025, 3:13 pm
‘First openly gay imam’ shot dead in South Africa, cops say motive unknown
Muhsin Hendricks, subject of 2022 documentary ‘The Radical,’ ran a mosque intended as a safe haven for gay and other marginalized Muslims near his birth place of Cape Town
By AFP
Salwan Najem (Youtube screenshot)
February 3, 2025, 7:03 pm
Swedish court convicts Quran burner of hate crimes, days after his ally was killed
Salwan Najem ‘expressed contempt for the Muslim ethnic group,’ court says, adding he and partner Salwan Momika — shot Thursday — exceeded free speech protections ‘by a wide margin’
By Reuters
A woman argues with Rosh Yehudi activists at a mass street prayer for Yom Kippur on Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv, on September 24, 2023. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90)
October 9, 2024, 5:00 am
High Court to rule on public Tel Aviv Yom Kippur prayer amid fears of repeat clashes
On Wednesday morning, judges are set to weigh in on a controversial service that underscores deep rifts in Israeli society and saw violent confrontations when it was held last year
By Mati Wagner
Illustrative - An Orthodox Jewish wedding. (Yaakov Lederman/Flash90)
August 18, 2024, 2:43 pm
Half of Israeli Jews would prefer to marry in non-Orthodox wedding ceremonies — poll
Two-thirds of public backs lifting Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly on Jewish weddings to include Reform, Conservative, civil ceremonies; only ultra-Orthodox, far-right voters oppose
By ToI Staff
Israelis hold a gender-separated protest prayer event in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square, organized after the municipality rejected a request for gender-segregated prayers there during the upcoming Yom Kippur, in Tel Aviv, August 8, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
August 9, 2024, 8:00 am
Protest service held in Tel Aviv after city rejects gender-segregated public prayer
Hundreds join gender-separated Dizengoff Square event, organized after request for segregated public Yom Kippur service in the square was rejected by municipality as discriminatory
By Noam Lehmann and ToI Staff
Gabe and Liz Rutan-Ram in a still from a campaign ad from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. (YouTube)
July 12, 2024, 10:14 am
US religious freedom drive backs Jewish couple barred from Christian adoption agency
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State makes Gabe and Liz Rutan-Ram’s struggle to adopt the centerpiece of their critique of conservative think tank’s Project 2025
By Jackie Hajdenberg
Illustrative: Texas state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, center, is joined by his sons, David and Whitby, during the Pledge of Allegiance in the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol on the last day of the legislative session in Austin, Texas, May 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
June 10, 2023, 3:32 am
Jewish activists lead charge against inserting religion back into US public schools
With over 1,600 bills nationwide seeking to instill religious values in state educational institutions, advocacy groups protest the ‘crumbling wall’ between church and state
By Cathryn J. Prince
File: Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita speaks during a watch party for Jennifer-Ruth Green, the Republican candidate for Indiana's 1st Congressional District, on Nov. 8, 2022, in Schererville, Indiana (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
December 3, 2022, 11:25 pm
Indiana judge rules for Jewish, Muslim plaintiffs against abortion ban
State residents argued ban would violate their religious rights on when they believe terminating pregnancy is acceptable
By Tom Davies
Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram went to court after an adoption agency disqualified them for being Jewish. (Courtesy of Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram/via JTA)
February 2, 2022, 3:23 am
Disqualified by a Christian adoption agency, a US Jewish couple talks about identity
Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram say they were outspoken about their Jewishness, though they suspected it might be an issue – but that didn’t stop the discrimination from hurting
By Asaf Shalev
Shel Lyons, a parent at Carmel River School in northern California, sued the school December 7, 2021, after it refused to allow an inflatable menorah (left) at an event centered around the school's 'holiday tree' (right). The lawsuit was quickly dismissed. (J. The Jewish News of Northern California/ via JTA)
December 21, 2021, 2:17 am
Christmas tree, huge menorah ignite latest fight over holidays in US public schools
A Jewish parent has filed and withdrawn a lawsuit against a California academy after it denied her request to bring a 6-foot-tall inflatable hanukkiah to a tree-lighting ceremony
By Gabe Stutman
Load More

Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community

Sign in or Register

Paying ToI Community members are invited to comment on articles
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By joining you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Sign in or Register
Only ToI Community members can comment below articles
Forgot your password? / Send me a login link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.
Back to top
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.