Freedom of Expression in Iran and Israel

Freedom of Expression in Iran and Israel

Both Israel and Iran are Middle Eastern nations, yet democratic Israel enjoys greater freedom of expression than its theocratic neighbor Iran, particularly regarding freedoms which affect or relate to ethnicity, religion, and women's rights. Freedom of expression is defined as the right to say what one wants through any form of communication or media, with the only limitation being to cause another harm in character or reputation by lying on misleading words. Freedom of expression in Israel looks similar to that of the United States, where people generally hold the right to speak freely no matter their gender, ethnicity or religious beliefs. However, freedom of expression in Iran looks much different. Iran is an Islamic nation, which means for the most part, their legal system is dictated Shariah law and rather than human decision making. Shariah law gives very little freedom of expression to women, or other religions, if any at all. Ethnic discrimination, however, is not a big problem in Iran. In the late 1940s, a document called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written and adopted by The United Nations National Assembly. This document was signed by countries who agreed to provide basic human rights to all people. Iran signed this document, promising to give basic Human rights to its citizens although they fail to do so. Israel, however, did not sign this document, yet provides basic human rights for its citizens. The nation of Israel, did not exist at the time the document was written; the nation was known as Palestine at the time and did not adopt the name israel until after the signing of the document had been completed. Iran, on the other hand, was its own nation at the time, and they did sign the document even though they do not follow the guidelines set within it. Iran is an Islamic nation, and they follow the Sharia law, which basically means they do not have to provide human rights if such right is in direct violation of one of their religious beliefs.

In the nation of Israel, Ethnic tension between the palestinians and the Israelis is palpable. Israelis feel that the land was originally theirs and they came to reclaim their homeland. Palestinians, on the other hand, feel that the land is theirs and the Israelis stole it from them. This problem causes a lot of ethnic tensions between the people who occupy Israel. Palestinians do not hold the right to freely speak their opinions by any means and are subject to punishment by the government through means of torture if caught doing so. However, among all of the ethnicities found in the nation of Israel, the Palestinians are the only ones who don't hold the right of freedom of expression. There are many different sects within the Jewish people including Orthodox, Non-Orthodox, Masorti, and Progressive. There is even more than that, but they are given equal rights to freely express their opinions. Another main ethnicity that can be found in Israel are the Arabs. Arabians do not necessarily identify with any particular religion. They enjoy the right to freely express their opinions, no matter what they are. In Israel, the primary ethnic discrimination that can be found, is directed towards the Palestinians.

Ethnic discrimination in Iran is not one of its major issues. Iran is actually a very ethnically diverse nation. Ethnic groups that might be found within Iran are mainly Persians, making up about 61% of the population but also include Arabs, Azeris, Kurds, Baluchis and Lors. Each of these ethnicities are given equal freedoms. Within Iran, ethnicity isn't the problem. Iranians do not care what your ancestry is, all they care about is your religious beliefs and

seeing as though none of the ethnicities listed identify with any particular religion, this isn't where the true problem lies. Iranians do not deny people human rights due to Ethnicity, they deny those rights based on religion.

In Israel, you have the right to express religious beliefs is respected no matter what they are. A wide variety of religions can be found in the nation of Israel, the most prominent being Judaism. Within the Jewish faith, there are several different sects each with their own subtle differences. They might not all agree on specific religious practices but all have the right to practice their religion in any way that they please without the fear of discrimination or punishment by the government. There are also other religions in Israel, such as Christianity and Islam. Even though Israel, referred to as The Holy Land since it is associated with the foundation of many religions, is a Jewish state, it still widely accepts other religions and gives