Ugandan President Says He Will Sign Harsh Anti-Homosexuality Bill; U.S. Objects

The Kampala Observer and the New York Times reported yesterday that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says he will sign the harsh Anti-Homosexuality Bill (full text- apparently the final version) passed by Uganda's Parliament last December. (See prior posting.) The announcement came in closing remarks at a retreat of Museveni's political party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM). Originally Museveni had reservations about signing the bill, but in his remarks (full text) to the NRM Museveni explained his current decision:

The reason I had not signed the bill is to scientifically answer the question; are there people genetically born homosexual? For me, I had thought that since there were people born albino there could be people born homosexual.

But since the medical authorities, the department of genetics of the Medical School from Makerere, say there is no proof yet that people are homosexual by genetics, I told those scientists to put it in writing and they are going to do so. Then I will sign the bill.

Am taking all these precautions because am historically answerable for whatever I do as a leader. There were mistakes made in the 1930s by Hitler because he wanted to make Germany strong. Some of these issues are very crucial and should be handled objectively not emotionally....

I know we are going to have a big battle with outsiders, but I will be able to say I asked scientists and this is what they said. That homosexuals are normal people behaving abnormally.

In the United States, yesterday President Obama issued a statement (full text) saying that he is "deeply disappointed" by the decision. He added: "enacting this legislation will complicate our valued relationship with Uganda." White House National Security Advisor Susan Rice tweeted yesterday that she had spoken at length with Museveni to urge him not to sign the bill

Obama Emphasizes International Religious Freedom At National Prayer Breakfast

This morning, President Obama spoke at the 62nd annual National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel. As reported on the White House blog, the First Lady, the Vice President and many legislators, officials and clergy also attended.  In his remarks (full text), the President devoted extensive time to issues of religious freedom around the world, saying in part:

We sometimes see religion twisted in an attempt to justify hatred and persecution against other people just because of who they are, or how they pray or who they love.  Old tensions are stoked, fueling conflicts along religious lines, as we’ve seen in the Central African Republic recently.... 

Our faith teaches us that in the face of suffering, we can’t stand idly by.....[F]reedom of religion matters to our national security.... [T]here are times when we work with governments that don’t always meet our highest standards, but they’re working with us on core interests.... At the same time, we also deeply believe that it’s in our interest, even with our partners, sometimes with our friends, to stand up for universal human rights.  So promoting religious freedom is a key objective of U.S. foreign policy.....  

It is not always comfortable to do, but it is right.  When I meet with Chinese leaders ... I stress that realizing China’s potential rests on upholding universal rights, including for Christians, and Tibetan Buddhists, and Uighur Muslims....

When I meet with the President of Burma...  I’ve said that Burma’s return to the international community depends on respecting basic freedoms, including for Christians and Muslims.  I’ve pledged our support to the people of Nigeria, who deserve to worship in their churches and mosques in peace, free from terror.  I’ve put the weight of my office behind the efforts to protect the people of Sudan and South Sudan, including religious minorities.

As we support Israelis and Palestinians as they engage in direct talks, we’ve made clear that lasting peace will require freedom of worship and access to holy sites for all faiths.... 

More broadly, I’ve made the case that no society can truly succeed unless it guarantees the rights of all its peoples, including religious minorities, whether they’re Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan, or Baha’i in Iran, or Coptic Christians in Egypt.  And in Syria, it means ensuring a place for all people -- Alawites and Sunni, Shia and Christian.

Going forward, we will keep standing for religious freedom around the world.  And that includes, by the way, opposing blasphemy and defamation of religion measures, which are promoted sometimes as an expression of religion, but, in fact, all too often can be used to suppress religious minorities.... We continue to stand for the rights of all people to practice their faiths in peace and in freedom.  And we will continue to stand against the ugly tide of anti-Semitism that rears it's ugly head all too often.  I look forward to nominating our next ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom to help lead these efforts....

And finally, as we build the future we seek, let us never forget those who are persecuted today, among them Americans of faith.  We pray for Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary who’s been held in North Korea for 15 months, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.... Kenneth Bae deserves to be free....

We pray for Pastor Saeed Abedini.  He’s been held in Iran for more than 18 months, sentenced to eight years in prison on charges relating to his Christian beliefs.... [W]e call on the Iranian government to release Pastor Abedini so he can return to the loving arms of his wife and children in Idaho.... And as we pray for all prisoners of conscience, whatever their faiths, wherever they’re held....

C-Span has a video of the full 90 minutes of speakers at today's National Prayer Breakfast. Time has a brief summary of highlights.

White House Recognizes International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today, President Obama issued a statement (full text) on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  He said in part:

Yet even on a day of solemn remembrance, there is room for hope.  For January 27th is also the day Auschwitz was liberated 69 years ago.  The noble acts of courage performed by liberators, rescuers, and the Righteous Among Nations remind us that we are never powerless.  In our lives, we always have choices.  In our time, this means choosing to confront bigotry and hatred in all of its forms, especially anti-Semitism.  It means condemning any attempts to deny the occurrence of the Holocaust.  It means doing our part to ensure that survivors receive some measure of justice and the support they need to live out their lives in dignity.

Meanwhile, according to JTA, on Friday the White House announced that it is appointing HHS staffer Aviva Sufian as Special Envoy for U.S. Holocaust Survivor Services. Her work will be directed toward survivors living in poverty and those not receiving services for which they are eligible.

Obama To Visit The Vatican In March

According to NBC News, the White House announced today that President Barack Obama will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on March 27. The President's visit to the Vatican will be part of a trip to Europe which also involves meetings in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. A White House statement says in part: "The president looks forward to discussing with Pope Francis their shared commitment to fighting poverty and growing inequality." Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Vatican on Jan. 14 to meet with his counterpart Secretary of State of the Holy See Pietro Parolin. (State Department press release.)

Today Is Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Last week President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation (full text) formally declaring January 20, 2014, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. The Proclamation reads in part:

During his lifelong struggle for justice and equality, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave mighty voice to the quiet hopes of millions, offered a redemptive path for oppressed and oppressors alike, and led a Nation to the mountaintop. Behind the bars of a Birmingham jail cell, he reminded us that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." On a hot summer day, under the shadow of the Great Emancipator, he challenged America to make good on its founding promise, and he called on every lover of freedom to walk alongside their brothers and sisters.

Meanwhile MLK biographer Stewart Burns has published a new book, Cosmic Companionship, a narrative anthology of Dr. King’s spiritual teaching. (Press release.)

Looming in the background of Dr. King's memory are at least two lawsuits involving family and friends tussling over rights to his papers and words. In a suit filed in August 2013, described by Mother Jones, the King estate (controlled by King's sons Martin III and Dexter) sued the King Center (controlled by King's daughter Bernice). The suit complains about the Center's storage and care of King's property and threatens to terminate the Center's license to use King's intellectual property. In a second lawsuit filed in October (as reported by the New York Times) 86-year old Harry Belafonte sued all three of King's surviving children over three documents of Dr. King's that Belafonte says were given to him by King, King's widow and a close aide. However when Belafonte attempted to auction off the documents for charity through Sotheby's, the King estate wrote Sotheby's challenging Belafonte's ownership of the documents. So Belafonte has sued in a New York federal district court asking for the court to declare him the owner of the documents.

Obama's Sparse Attendance At Church Services Analyzed

Yesterday's New York Times carries an analysis of President Obama's personal faith and church service attendance. Triggered by the Obama family's decision last week not to attend church services on Christmas, the article reports:

Mr. Obama has gone to church 18 times during his nearly five years in the White House, according to Mark Knoller of CBS News, an unofficial White House historian, while his predecessor, Mr. Bush, attended 120 times during his eight years in office.

But those numbers do not reflect the depth of Mr. Obama’s faith, said Joshua DuBois, the former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. “President Obama is a committed Christian,” said Mr. DuBois, who sends the president a daily devotional by email, and is the author of “The President’s Devotional.”

White House Hosts Two Hanukkah Receptions As the Holiday Ends

As Hanukkah was ending yesterday late afternoon and evening, President Obama hosted two separate Hanukkah receptions at the White House. The White House has posted the full text of the President's remarks at the first of the receptions, many of which focused on the unusual overlap of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. Navy lieutenant  Rabbi Amanda Lurer gave a rather tactful introduction to her lighting of the Hanukkah menorah-- a day later than the last candle was to be lit according to Jewish law. She said:

Hanukkah formally ends tonight as the sun goes down this evening.  But it will always be appropriate for us as we gather to remind ourselves and the world of the meaning of this holiday.

She also recited only two of the three traditional blessings over the Hanukkah candles, omitting the one praising God for commanding the lighting of Hanukkah candles-- since there is no commandment they be lit at the holiday's end.

UPATE: The White House has now posted the full text of the President's remarks to the second of the Hanukkah receptions. This one was attended by three Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, Israeli diplomats and others. The President's remarks were more substantive, weaving a defense of his Iran policy and a tribute to Nelson Mandela into a Hanukkah theme. At this reception, Hanukkah candles were lit by Rabbi Joshua Sherwin, a lieutenant in the United States Navy, who recited only one of the three blessings that are used during the holiday itself-- the shehecheyanu.

President's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

Today is Thanksgiving. Earlier this week, President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation (full text) setting today as the official date for the holiday this year.  The Proclamation reads in part:

Thanksgiving offers each of us the chance to count our many blessings -- the freedoms we enjoy, the time we spend with loved ones, the brave men and women who defend our Nation at home and abroad....

This Thanksgiving Day, let us ... lift each other up and recognize, in the oldest spirit of this tradition, that we rise or fall as one Nation, under God.

President Sends Hanukkah Greetings

Tonight is the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.  Today the White House issued a statement from President Obama (full text) sending warm wishes to all those celebrating the holiday.  The statement says in part:

For the first time since the late 1800s – and for the last time until some 70,000 years from now – the first day of Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving.  It’s an event so rare some have even coined it "Thanksgivukkah."  As we gather with loved ones around the turkey, the menorah, or both, we celebrate some fortunate timing and give thanks for miracles both great and small. 

Like the Pilgrims, the Maccabees at the center of the Hanukkah story made tremendous sacrifices so they could practice their religion in peace.

Obama Criticized As Anti-Religious For Reading First Gettysburg Address Version

To mark yesterday's 150th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, documentarian Ken Burns has urged everyone to video themselves reciting the Address. His Learn the Address website, which features a number of celebrities delivering the speech, points out that there are 5 versions of the Gettysburg Address.  Burns specifically asked President Obama to recite the "Nicolay Version"-- the earliest version of the speech which, among other things, does not include the reference to "God" that ended up in later versions. A number of conservative commentators and websites-- perhaps unaware of why the President did so-- strongly attacked Obama for "omitting God" in the Gettysburg Address. For example, a Liberty Counsel press release said:

After five years of tearing down religious liberty, it is neither surprising nor unexpected that President Obama disregarded “under God” when reciting the Gettysburg Address. Today the “new birth of freedom” means taking a stand against a tyrannical, antireligious assault at every level of government from the Department of Justice, to city halls, to the public schools.

And American Family Association Issue Analysis Director Bryan Fischer tweeted: "Obama's omission of 'under God' is more evidence of his anti-Christian bigotry. He honors Islam but disrespects Christianity."

According to a CBS News report:

White House spokesman Jay Carney on Tuesday gave a simple explanation for the reading. "He read the version of the address that Ken Burns provided," he said, noting that Burns is a "noted Civil War scholar."

Obama Sends Greetings To Sikhs Celebrating Birthday of First Sikh Guru

Yesterday, President Obama issued a statement (full text) extending best wishes to Sikhs in the United States and around the world as they celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Sikh Guru.  The statement says in part:

This sacred time is an occasion to reflect on Guru Nanak’s timeless teachings and the principles that are at the heart of Sikhism, including the equality of all human beings, the pluralism we cherish in diverse societies and the compassion we owe one another.  

Tonight Is 75th Kristallnacht Anniversary; New Data On Antisemitism In Europe and U.S. Released

A statement (full text) issued yesterday by President Obama points out that tonight marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht-- the violent Nazi-party inspired anti-Jewish pogroms carried out in 1938 in Germany and German -annexed territory in Austria and Czechoslovakia. Kristallnacht marked a turning point that led to ever-increasing anti-Jewish actions by the Nazi regime. Yesterday, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights released a new report titled Discrimination and Hate Crime Against Jews in EU Member States: Experiences and Perceptions of Antisemitism. Several related publications were also released.This is the first report to collect comparable current data across 8 EU countries-- Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.  These countries are home to 90% of EU's Jewish population. Among the key findings were:

66% of respondents consider antisemitism to be a major problem in their countries, while 76% said the situation had become more acute over the last five years.

21% of all respondents have experienced an antisemitic incident or incidents involving verbal insult, harassment or a physical attack in the 12 months preceding the survey. 2% of respondents had been victims of an antisemitic physical attack over the previous year.

In related developments, the Jewish Museum Berlin hosted a conference last night and today titled Antisemitism in Europe Today: the Phenomena, the Conflicts. A Haaretz op-ed criticized organizers for scheduling the conference on the Jewish Sabbath, thereby effectively precluding participation by observant Jews.  And, according to JTA, earlier this week a German hotel, the Kristall Sauna Wellnesspark in Bad Klosterlausnitz, in the former eastern German state of Thuringen, apologized for the ad it had run promoting a "long, romantic Kristall-Nacht" on November 9.

In the United States, the ADL on Oct. 28 released its 2013 Survey About Attitudes Toward Jews In America. It concluded that 12% of Americans have deeply entrenched anti-Semitic attitudes, a 3% decline from the last poll in 2011.  Meanwhile, the New York Times reported earlier this week on the extensive anti-Semitic harassment of students in the New York State Pine Bush Central School District.