A Pluralistic Society

Israel formally recognizes 15 religions, including Islam, the Ba¡ha­s and Druze faiths, as well as Chaldaic and many other Christian denominations, and others. Each religious community freely exercises its faith, observes its own holy days and weekly day of rest, and administers its own internal affairs. Israel protects the holy sites of all religions.

Israel is the only Middle Eastern country where the Christian population is thriving instead of disappearing. Between 1948 and 1998, Israel's Christians grew fourfold, from 34,000 to 130,000.

The Ba¡ha­s, a religious group persecuted in Muslim countries, built its world center in Haifa, Israel.

Israel's non-Jewish minority forms about 20 percent of the population and is made up of Arab Muslims, Arab Christians, non-Arab Christians, Druze, Bedouins, Circassians, Asians and others.

Eighty percent of Israelis are Jews of different ethnicities and races from Arab countries, Ethiopia, India, Russia, the former Soviet Union republics, Latin America, the U.S. and Europe. Refugees from Arab and Muslim Middle Eastern and North African countries and their descendants make up over half the Jewish popuation.

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