State religion

===Judaism===
{{See also|Jewish state}}
* {{flag|Israel}}: Although is defined in several of its laws as a "[[Jewish and democratic state]]" (''medina yehudit ve-demokratit''). However, the term "[[Jew]]ish" is a [[Polysemy|polyseme]] that can describe the Jewish people [[Who is a Jew?|as either an ethnic or a religious group]]. The debate about the meaning of the term "Jewish" and its legal and social applications is one of the most profound issues with which Israeli society deals. The problem of the status of religion in Israel, even though it is relevant to all religions, usually refers to the status of [[Judaism]] in Israeli society. Thus, even though from a constitutional point of view Judaism is not the state religion in Israel, its status nevertheless determines relations between religion and state and the extent to which religion influences the political center.<ref>''Trouble in Utopia: The Overburdened Polity of Israel'', by Dan Horowitz and Moshe Lissak, pp. 51–52</ref> The [[Law of Return]], was passed on 5 July 1950, gives the global diaspora [[Jews]], the right to relocate to Israel and acquire [[Israeli citizenship]]. Section - (1) of that law declares that "Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an Oleh, "(Immigrant)". In the Law of Return, the State of Israel gave effect to the [[Zionism|Zionist movement]]'s "credo" which called for the establishment of Israel as a [[Sovereign]] [[Jewish state]] with [[Democracy|Democratic]] setups, ideals and values.<ref>International Commission of Jurists
https://www.icj.org › 2013/06PDF
The Law of Return, 5710-1950 1. Right of "aliya" Every Jew has the ...</ref> The State of Israel supports religious institutions, particularly [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] ones, and recognizes the "religious communities" as carried over from those recognized under the British Mandate—in turn derived from the pre-1917 Ottoman system of ''[[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millets]]''. These are Jewish and Christian ([[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], [[Latin Catholic]], [[Gregorian-Armenian]], [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian-Catholic]], [[Syriac Catholic Church|Syriac Catholic]], [[Chaldean Catholic Church|Chaldean]], [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkite Catholic]], [[Maronites|Maronite Catholic]], and [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]]). The fact that the Muslim population was not defined as a religious community does not affect the rights of the Muslim community to practice their faith. At the end of the period covered by the 2009 U.S. International Religious Freedom Report, several of these denominations were pending official government recognition; however, the Government has allowed adherents of not officially recognized groups the freedom to practice. In 1961, legislation gave Muslim Shari'a courts exclusive jurisdiction in matters of personal status. Three additional religious communities have subsequently been recognized by Israeli law: the [[Druze]] (prior under Islamic jurisdiction), the Evangelical Episcopal Church, and followers of the [[Baháʼí Faith]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-10-29|title=Israel and the occupied territories|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127349.htm|access-date=2023-01-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029164133/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127349.htm |archive-date=29 October 2009|publisher=U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor }}</ref>