Reacting to the U.S. State Department�s recent release of its �International Religious Freedom Report� for 2009, Agudath Israel of America�s executive vice president Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel issued the following statement:

�Much of the criticism of Israel in the U.S. Department of State�s International Religious Freedom Report for 2009 is misplaced.

�The report�s disapproval of traditional Jewish religious law�s role regarding certain personal status issues in Israel � a role enshrined in an agreement made by her founders more than 60 years ago � ignores the country�s self-declared identity as a Jewish state.� Only a common Jewish denominator of religious standards can preserve the integrity of Israel as a Jewish state.

�The report�s disapproval of El Al�s respect for the Jewish Sabbath, the closing of roads in religious neighborhoods on the Sabbath, pre-marriage counseling of Jewish couples and limitations on proselytization likewise reflect obliviousness to Israel�s relationship to Judaism.

�The United States is rightly proud of its tradition as a republic that embraces no official religion.�But numerous other countries, with equal pride, define themselves as Muslim or Christian. One country was created as a Jewish state.�Israel�s choice of timeless Jewish tradition in the public realm and with regard to issues of personal status requires no apology.�Criticism of Israel for being true to its foundational ideal is ill-conceived.�

(YWN Desk – NYC)