Editors may appeal a censorship decision to a three-member tribunal that includes two civilians. Newspapers are privately owned and freely criticize government policy. In March, an Israeli journalist received death threats from Jewish extremists for her part in producing a television series marking the 50th anniversary of the Israeli state. She was accused of treating Palestinian guerrillas as freedom fighters rather than terrorists. In January, an ultra-nationalist Jewish woman was sentenced to two years in jail for publicly displaying posters depicting the Islamic prophet Mohammed as a pig.
Freedom of religion is respected.
Each community has jurisdiction over its own members in matters of marriage, burial, and divorce. In the Jewish community, the Orthodox establishment handles these matters. A heated debate has erupted in recent years over the Orthodox monopoly on conversions, which denies certain rights such as citizenship and marriage to Reform or Conservative converts. A court decision in late December ordered the Israeli government to recognize conversions performed by non-Orthodox rabbis, but the government, which is largely dependent on religious parties, is expected to obtain a restraining order on the ruling pending appeal in early 1999. In May, a bill that would impose heavy fines on individuals who preach with the intention of causing another person to change his religion passed its first reading.