Page 264 - ISRAEL'S CRADLE

letter on behalf of the Jewish Agency Executive was sent to the Global Executive of "Agudat Yisrael," which was worded thus:
The Agency Executive has heard from its Chairman of your request regarding assurances on the issues of marital relations, the Sabbath, education and Kosher laws in the Jewish state that would be established in our time.
As the Chairman of the Executive informed you, neither the Agency Executive, nor any other entity in the Land of Israel, has the authority to determine in advance the constitution of the Jewish state, once it is established. The establishment of the state requires UN approval, and this will not be granted if freedom of conscience is not guaranteed to all its citizens and if it unclear that this does not mean a theocratic state [religious rule]. The Jewish state shall also have non-Jewish citizens – Christians and Muslims, and it is obviously necessary to ensure full equality of rights for all the citizens, the absence of coercion or discrimination in religious or other matters.
We were satisfied to hear, that you understand that no entity is authorized to retroactively determine the state's constitution, and that in certain areas, the state shall be free to determine its constitution and regime according to the will of its citizens. At the same time, the Executive appreciates your demands, and it knows that these matters concern not only the members of Agudat Yisrael, but also many among the faithful of Israel in the Zionist parties and outside of any party, and it fully understands your demands, that the Agency Executive notify you what its own position is on the questions you presented, and what it is willing to do if its influence and resolve are sufficient to fulfill your wishes on the aforementioned questions.
The Agency Executive has empowered the undersigned to formulate a position on the questions you posed in the [preliminary] conversation [with Ben-Gurion], and we hereby notify you of the position of the Agency Executive:
A. Sabbath. Clearly the legal day of rest in the Jewish state would be the Sabbath, obviously while permitting Christians and adherents of other faiths to rest on their weekly holiday.
B. Kosher. We must take all necessary steps to ensure that in every state kitchen that caters to Jews, has kosher foods.
C. Marital Relations. All the members of the Executive appreciate the seriousness of the problem and its great difficulties, and on the part of all the entities the Jewish Agency represents, everything possible shall be done on this issue to satisfy the deep need of the faithful to prevent, God forbid, splitting the people of Israel in two.
D. Education. Full autonomy shall be guaranteed to all educational streams (incidentally, this regime also exists in the WZO and in the Israeli "Knesset Israel" at present). There shall be no infringement on the part of governments upon the religious conviction and religious conscience of any part of the people of Israel. The state, of course, shall
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