In the United States we have a separation of, “Church and State” spelled out in our constitution. Religion is not allowed to have an impact on any government matters in order to not exclude people based on religious beliefs. In Israel this distinction is nonexistent. Israel is a Jewish State: Judaism governs the laws and regulations carried out by the state. The first problem with this is only Orthodox Judaism is considered Judaism in the eyes of Israel. Reform, Conservative and Secular Jews can not be married by their own Rabbis. Now this may not seem like a big issue and in my opinion it is not in the whole scheme of things. But, in my opinion, there seems great reason to allow civil marriage (marriage by the state) to be recognized, so that people can be married to the people they wish and be accepted by the country that they live in. This idea brings about a larger dispute. The separation of the Judaism and its rules, and democracy. For example there used to be very few stores that were open in the Sabbath. Nowadays, they are much more common. Does the state have the right to not allow people to shop on the Jewish day of rest, or is the sense of democracy and freedom more important? I think the idea of a Jewish State is important, but a country that wants to survive, and more importantly thrive in this modern world cannot expect to suppress people’s freedom to live the way they want in the name of its own religious beliefs. Israel made the decision eventually to offer citizenship to anyone that has a Jewish grandfather. But still retained one of its limits – these people are not automatically recognized as Jewish in the eyes of the state. Being Jewish opens up many opportunities in Israel such as education, employment, and treatment from police. Similar to the treatment of women and African-Americans in the United States, people that are not viewed as Jewish by the government are at an inherent disadvantage in society. This level of inequality is unacceptable and needs to be changed. But also necessary, is the change of the Jewish elitism that seems ever present in Israel. With the separation of religion and government in Israel, opportunities of peace and better understanding between the different beliefs and cultures will emerge.