To clarify the church/state thing... Secularism or separation of church and state means freedom FROM religion, at least in the American context. The state does not endorse any religion, all religious people are free to worship with the added caveat that public discussions involving religious moral etc... must be conducted peacefully, respectfully and with reason.
With the exception of some extremists and some concessions to the Orthodox community, Israel has as free a religious society as anywhere in the Anglo-American world, with the exception of some of their political parties which embody, to some extent, variations of Judaism.
In my opinion, due to the instability of the Israeli Knesset and the inevitability of coalition governments, this sometimes results in the more extreme Orthodox sects gaining temporary control of the state affairs. This process must be changed gradually.
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