Anglican Bishop Tom Frame wrote "Church and State." Australia is not a Christian nation" is the first sentence. Even though Australia has a Christian majority it is not a Christian nation. I am a Jew living in Australia, and that is great. That means that I am treated the same as any other person in Australia.

My ancestors came from czarist Russia where Russian Orthodoxy was the state religion. They were second-class citizens. Some of my family lived in Soviet Russia. They had to have Zhid meaning Jew marked on their passport. Those who didn't manage to get away from the Communists were murdered by the Nazis. Jews have lived in Christian and Muslim states. In both those kinds of states Jews were second class citizens.

In Israel a non-Jew is a second class citizen. Jews are favoured in the Law of Return. Orthodox Jews are favoured over other Jews. Orthodox Jews, non-Orthodox Jews and Muslms are go to separate schools. Nobody in the government of Australia either cares whether I am a Jew or what kind of Jew I am.

Both Arab nationalists and Jewish nationalists cannot accept a democratic state. States representing only part of their population are not democratic.

There will be turmoil and conflict in setting up a democratic, secular state. However, the end result will be more likely to bring peace than the separation of Arabs and Jews.

The record of partitioning countries in India, Vietnam, Korea and Germany is one of conflict. Partitioning Palestine will likely be no different.

South Africa is forming a democratic state aided by the fact that the Zulus and the Afrikaners were not allowed to split off and form separate states. Denial of self-determination gives democracy a chance.

I would like to see a one state solution. I would like to see a state where there is separation of religion and state and also civil marriage. I would like to see a state where all people practice whatever religion they want, and whatever they want is absolutely no business of the government.

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I think it is impossible for a state to be both Jewish and Democratic. If Australia became a Christian state rather than a state where Christians are a majority I would become a second class citizen as I am a Jew. Since I would not accept a Christian state in Australia I cannot in good conscience accept a Jewish state in Israel.

Australia was not a democracy when the White Australia policy was on. It was not a democracy when it refused admittance to Jews fleeing the Nazi oppression apparently only because they were Jews. Under the Law of Return I who was not born in Israel and have no connection with it at this time can go to Israel and become a citizen while an Arab born in Haifa who fled Israel during the War of Independence cannot. The Knesset has conducted an inquiry into infrastructure and services such as garbage collection, roads and other services provided to communities and found that such services were not provided to Arab villages to an extent equal to that provided by Jewish villages.

Two Israelis who want to marry each other cannot marry in Israel unless clergy of the appropriate faiths approve. There is no civil marriage in Israel. Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 by the United Nations states.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

Israel violates that democratic right.

The United States has a majority of white Protestants. However, last year they elected a black man as president and a Catholic as vice-president. Can you envision a non-Jew being president or prime minister of Israel? In discrimination against blacks and Catholics the United States was really not democratic. However, with that election they have gone further on the road to democracy.

Democratic union offers more hope than partition into Arab and Jewish states.

i too see only a one state solution...as we have proofs the two state thing isnt working...two states will allways make a first class[2 de class]...with the results we are seeing with the settlers gradually settling anywhere

sadly unmentioned is most of these settlements are sparsly populated[most of the buildings are infact empty...and this is all the worse in that while one disposessed section..of gods people are homeless[and who lives but by gods will]...

while the other are multinational...[by and large..duel; passport holders with duplicated homes on two continents],..regardless there needs to be a single state..[even if it has two names]but with a govt that unifies and fairly sorts out this mess..[without the hoped for armogeddon]

it seems the soloman solution[of cutting the baby in half has failed]...the only solution as i see it is to disarm all those who would claim the right to live in the HOLY LANDS

just as it is blasphomy to bring a gun into church..[how much worse to do murder in the holy lands]...i would decree that the best defense is for the winner to disarm...

to have a robotic censor that kills anyone wearing an instrument of murder...ok a bit unrealistic...but such is the sanity of the insanity we are forced to endure...

here we have true anti-semitism..thus all..not semites get out now...if your not brown eyed black skin go home...there is no service giving the god of life...any more murder...its time both parties matured in their faith..[and gave back to god..that which was allways gods alone to keep]

the world awaites an awakening from this insanity..[have you seen what we collectivly..have allowed to be done to gods holy lands?]

Davidf,

1) “Australia was not a democracy when the White Australia policy was on. It was not a democracy when it refused admittance to Jews”

How so David?
Quite apart from any argument/issue about the morality of it ---and, that’s a whole new debate. I cannot see how refusing entry to Jews or non-whites, in itself, negates democracy.
Surely your comment was rhetorical!

2)“Democratic union offers more hope than partition into Arab and Jewish states.”

Yeh , right, perhaps in the same way that Robert Mugabe’s new model Zimbabwe offers hope for non-Shona Africans’!

THe UN never mandated a Jewish state. Egypt and Jordan didn't sign peace treaties with a Jewish state.

Singer is just spouting a Jewish Israeli fruitloop idea.

Why do these people think the rest of the world will always go along with their persistantly moving the goal posts in an endeavour to continue the Mid East tension.

The world has woken up to the nutcases in Tel Aviv. Just wait till they see the world's reaction to their, soon to be raid, on Iran and Irans retaliation oif attacking Israels nuclear industry. Nuclear fallout from destroyed reactors ...recall Chenobyl. Nuclear bombs would have to be used by Tehran to create a nuclear wasted Israel, only conventional armed rockets and they have plenty those.

They are going to be so stunned! They are blind to the anomisity they are stiring up with their now universally condemned blatant landstealling and so obvious prolonging of the Palestinians misery.

Condi Rice was right after the Israelis Lebanon defeat by hezbollah and the forced withdrawal when she said

'Now we will see who wants peace in the Middle East'.

Well we are seeing now!

The nutcases in Israel are so stupid they just will not believe the world will support Iran after they launch their war machine against the non-threatening Iranian people.

They can't see themselves for what they are: the nutcase fanatical religious warmongers of the Middle East.

David Singer is aligned with them.
Are you nuts too David? And don't come to us grizzling about the destruction of Israel when it occurs, for that's surely what the nutcases in Tel Aviv are bringing upon themselves.

At present,the following are State religions(the one officially endorsed by the State) -Roman Catholic-Eastern Catholic-Lutheran-Anglican-Reformed-Old Catholic-Sunni Islam-Shi'a Islam and possibly Buddhism should also be included.A grand total of about 45 countries have a State religion.
So what is the problem about Israel having a State religion,apart from politics and prejudice?

The fanatic logic behind the Arab rejection of Israel's determination to make Judaism the State religion makes perverse sense,but the lack of logic behind some of the present posts defies commonsense.
There are about 26 countries where Islam is the State religion and mostly, if you are on the outer-beware!Next to no rights-get out!Can you imagine a Jew trying to live in Saudi Arabia,for example.They cant even go there as tourists.
By and large,Arab Moslem Israelis have the same rights and privileges as do the Jews and there are of course Arab members of the Knesset parliament.
As regards having Judaism made the State religion,nothing would change except the Arabs would have to recognize the rights of existence of the Jews in Israel.
Great article David Singer!