House Holds Hearings On Religious Accommodation In Military

Yesterday, the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on Religious Accommodations in the Armed Services. The full texts of the prepared statements of five witnesses, plus statements submitted for the record by a member of Congress and ten advocacy organizations, are available at the Committee's website.

Sikh Student Sues For Accommodation To Enlist In ROTC

The ACLU yesterday announced the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of a Sikh college student who was refused a religious accommodation to permit him to enlist in the ROTC program at Hofstra University.  The complaint (full text) in Singh v. McHugh, (D DC, Nov. 12, 2014), contends that plaintiff's rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act were violated:

As a practicing Sikh, Mr. Singh’s religious beliefs require him to maintain long hair and wear a turban and beard. Defendants have refused to allow Mr. Singh to enlist in ROTC unless he agrees to abandon these practices upon enrolling as a Cadet. Specifically, Defendants will not allow Mr. Singh to enlist in ROTC unless he agrees to follow all Army grooming and uniform regulations, which would require him to cut his hair, remove his turban, and shave off his beard.

Singh, who is fluent in Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, wants to become a military intelligence officer. The military says it will not consider Singh's request for an accommodation until he formally enlists and complies with the grooming and uniform regulations.

Army Studying Religious Requirement for ROTC Prof At Christian College

Fox News reported yesterday that the U.S. Army is conducting a review of its ROTC policies after a queston was raised as to whether Wheaton College, a Christian school, can require that its lead professor of military science be of the Christian faith. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which complained to the Army, contends that the Army cannot impose a religious test for an assignment.

European Court Says Turkey Mistreated Jehovah's Witness Conscientious Objectors

In Buldu and Others v. Turkey, (ECHR Second Section, June 3, 2014) (full text in French), the European Court of Human Rights held that Turkey violated the European Convention on Human Rights Art. 3 (inhuman and degrading treatment) and Art. 9 (freedom of thought conscience and religion) in its prosecution and conviction of four Jehovah's Witnesses who were conscientious objectors to military service. It also held that Turkey violated Art. 6, Sec. 1 (fair trial) as to one of the petitioners who complained that he had had to appear as a civilian before a court made up exclusively of military personnel. The court (in an appealable Chamber Judgment) awarded substantial amounts in damages to each petitioner. More information on the decision is available in the Court's English language press release, and from Law & Religion UK blog.

Pentagon Chaplain Hosts First Ever Sikh Program

Huffington Post reports that the first ever program at the Pentagon to recognize the Sikh faith was held last Friday. Hosted by the Pentagon Chaplain, the program  celebrated Vaisakhi, described by Valarie Kaur who spoke at the program as a celebration of "the founding of the Sikh community as the Khalsa, a spiritual sister and brotherhood."

Religious Groups Say Military's New Religious Accommodation Policy Falls Short

As previously reported, in January the Department of Defense adopted a revised policy on religious accommodation in the military, including on matters of appearance and grooming.  However, as explained by the ADL in a blog posting yesterday, many still feel that the new policy does not go far enough. In an April 2 letter to the Pentagon (full text) 21 major religious and civil rights organizations summarized their objections, stating in part:

As currently drafted, ... [the policy] would require religiously observant service members ... to remove their head coverings, cut their hair, or shave their beards ... while their request to accommodate these same religious practices is pending.... We urge you to reconsider this provision, which has the effect of forcing some religiously observant service members to make an impossible choice between their faith and their chosen profession.

Further, under ... [the policy] even if an original accommodation request is approved, religiously observant service members would be required to submit a new request for the same accommodation every time they receive a new assignment, “transfer of duty station, or other significant change in circumstances.” The uncertainty associated with this requirement to repeatedly request an accommodation for the very same religious practices is stifling, and may needlessly limit career opportunities – or, in some cases, end careers.

[Thanks to Michael Lieberman for the lead.]

Israel's Knesset Passes Law To Draft Yeshiva Students

In Israel today, the Knesset passed the controversial Equal Service Bill imposing military service obligations on ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish yeshiva students who have historically enjoyed a draft exemption. Times of Israel reports that the bill provides for a 3-year transition period during which a target for ultra-Orthodox enlistees into the military will be set.  The target will rise each year until 2017 when it will go to 5,200 new Haredi enlistees each year. Individual sanctions against yeshiva students who dodge the draft will be triggered if these enlistment targets are not met. The bill passed 67-1, with the opposition boycotting the vote. In 2012, Israel's High Court of Justice struck down the Tal Law -- whose formal title was "Deferral of Service for Yeshiva Students for Whom Torah Is Their Profession Law." (See prior posting.)

Pentagon Says New Supplier For Kosher MREs Will Be Found

According to a JTA report earlier this week, the Pentagon says it is committed to supporting the religious dietary requirements of service members. The statement comes after Agudath Israel of America complained to  the top military chaplain that a solicitation by the Defense Logistics Agency last April for bids to cover halal and kosher MREs (meals ready-to-eat) was reissued last month to cover only halal MREs. The Defense Department acknowledges it was unsuccessful in obtaining bids for kosher MREs, but says it has issued a new solicitation and expects to select a supplier by April. Meanwhile it has sufficient kosher MREs on hand to meet the needs of Jewish members of the military deployed to the Central Command region (which includes the Middle East and Afghanistan).

Israel's High Court Bars Subsidies For Some Yeshiva Students Who Have Received Draft Deferrals

In Israel yesterday, the High Court of Justice issued an interim injunction in the sensitive dispute over drafting of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli military. The Jerusalem Post reports that the Court order prohibits the government from transferring funds for stipends to some 3000 yeshiva students. In 2012, Israel's High Court of Justice held that the "Tal Law" that provided exemptions for ultra-Orthodox students and a framework for subsidizing their religious studies conflicted with Israel's Basic Law, and therefore the Knesset could not extend the law in its then existing form after its July 2012 expiration. (See prior posting.) The Knesset has so far been unable to agree on a new law. However, the government has continued paying stipends, and the Justice Minister issued mass deferrals to Orthodox students who received enlistment orders after the Tal Law expired.  In yesterday's action, the High Court ruled that no future stipends may be paid to yeshiva students in the 1994, 1995, and first half of 1996 cohorts who have received enlistment orders but have been deferred.

House Hearing Held On Religious Accommodation In the Military

Yesterday, the House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Military Personnel yesterday held a hearing on Religious Accommodations in the Armed Services. The prepared statements of the six witnesses-- chaplains and representatives of chaplain endorsing agencies-- as well as statements for the record submitted by nine other groups and individuals are available on the committee's website. [Thanks to Michael Lieberman for the lead.]

U.S. Military Issues New Policy On Religious Accommodation

The Department of Defense yesterday adopted a revised policy on religious accommodation in the military by issuing significant amendments to Department of Defense Instruction 1300.17 on Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services. (Full text of amended Instruction.).  The new policy provides generally that the Department of Defense places a high value on the rights of military personnel "to observe the tenets of their respective religions or to observe no religion at all." It then sets up elaborate criteria for determining whether to grant an exemption from a military rule on religious grounds:

• A request for religious accommodation will be promptly granted if it will not affect mission accomplishment.
• Where an accommodation would affect mission accomplishment, the "compelling interest"-"least restrictive means" standard of RFRA will be used if the military requirement involved "substantially burdens" a service member's exercise of religion.
• Where mission accomplishment is affected and the military policy does not impose a substantial burden, an exemption from it on religious grounds will be denied whenever the needs of mission accomplishment outweigh the needs of the service member.

The directive specifically envisions that accommodations may include matters of grooming and appearance (including hair length), religious tattoos or religiously motivated body piercings. However, in defining when the military has a "compelling interest" in enforcing a policy, the directive provides:

DoD has a compelling government interest in ... elements of mission accomplishment such as military readiness, unit cohesion, good order, discipline, health, and safety, on both the individual and unit levels. An essential part of unit cohesion is establishing and maintaining uniform military grooming and appearance standards.

Wall Street Journal reports on the new policy.