Nearly 10,000,000 pounds are spent annually by various Israeli Government ministries and local governments to help members of the 12 religious groups in Israel observe their faiths, Dr.S. Z. Cahane, director general of the Israel Ministry of Religions, reported today. Dr. Cahane told a press conference that there are only six nations throughout the world with ministries of religion.
Referring to the projected school of the Hebrew Union College, the American Reform Seminary, on which construction started Monday, Dr. Cahane stated there was no issue of religious freedom involved. He said any religious group was free to start a movement in Israel. The issue in the HUC school, he said, involved the question of a building license from the Jerusalem Municipal Council, on which Orthodox Jews were represented. He emphasized that this was a matter of local option.
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