Quebec Seeks To Close Jewish School For Slighting Secular Curriculum

Yesterday's Montreal Gazette reports on a lawsuit filed last month by the Canadian province of Quebec against a 50-year old Orthodox Jewish school in Montreal seeking to close it down. In the suit filed in Quebec Superior Court, the province's Education Department alleges that Academie Yeshiva Toras Moshe does not spend sufficient time on non-religious subjects to meet the province's requirements. AOL News reports that Quebec has been pressuring the school since 2006 to come into compliance with provincial requirement, but the school has refused to do so. The all-boy's school in the upscale Outremont neighborhood, now home to many Hasidic Jews, does not hold a state permit. This violates Quebec's education law.

Court Dismisses Action Against Diocese For Negligent Hiring and Supervision of Priest

In Redwing v. Catholic Bishop for Diocese of Memphis, (TN App., May 27, 2010), the Tennessee Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, dismissed a damage action against the Catholic Diocese of Memphis alleging that it was liable in damages for negligent hiring, retention and supervision of a priest who allegedly sexually abused plaintiff as a child over 30 years ago. The majority held that the negligent hiring and retention claims must be dismissed under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, since adjudicating issues of hiring and retaining clergy would entangle the court in matters of religious doctrine and polity. The majority held that while the negligent supervision claim could be decided using neutral tort principles, the statute of limitations that requires suit to be filed within one year after the victim reached age 18 cannot be tolled for some 30 years as plaintiff urges. Judge Kirby dissented however on the statute of limitations issue, arguing that plaintiff, after conducting discovery, might be able to show that at the time he reached majority, he did not have inquiry notice of facts to support a claim of negligent supervision against the Diocese.

President Hosts White House Reception For Jewish American Heritage Month

On Thursday, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the first ever White House reception to mark Jewish American Heritage Month. (Video.) In his remarks (full text) the President said in part:

As a product of history and faith, Jewish Americans have helped to open our eyes to injustice, to people in need, and to the simple idea that we ought to recognize ourselves in the struggles of our fellow men and women. That's what’s led Jewish advocates to fight for women's equality and workers' rights. That's what led rabbis to preach against racism from the bimah -– and to lead congregants on marches and protests to stop segregation. And that is what helped lead America to recognize and support Israel as a Jewish homeland and a beacon for democratic values -– beginning mere minutes after its independence was declared.....

Ahead of the reception, the White House released a statement indicating the members of Congress and other notables who would attend the reception, as well as the items on loan from the Library of Congress and the National Archives of significance to Jewish American history which will be on display for the reception.

Russian Duma Adopts New Christian National Holiday; Other Groups Want Similar Treatment

According to Eurasia Review, on Wednesday the Russian Duma gave final approval to a law that recognizes the Day of the Baptism of Rus (July 28) as a public holiday. The new law amends Art. 1.1 of the law "On Days of Glory and Anniversaries of Russia" and adds the new holiday to eight others. (Russian News Line, 3/19). The new holiday commemorates the actions of Vladimir the Great who, in the 980's converted to Christianity and proceeded to baptise the people in Kiev and then other cities. (Background from Wikipedia.) Now that the new national holiday has been adopted, leaders of the Muslim and Buddhist communities say that the Duma should also adopt national holidays to recognize their faiths.

New Zealand Effectively Bans Kosher Slaughtering

Yesterday New Zealand's ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced adoption of the Animal Welfare (Commercial Slaughter) Code of Welfare 2010. J-Wire reports that the new Code effectively bans kosher slaughtering in New Zealand by requiring that all animals slaughtered commercially be stunned prior to killing. Kosher beef will still be able to be imported from other countries. However, New Zealand has a ban on the importation of unprocessed chicken because of concern over certain diseases.

Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence of Sydney's the Great Synagogue said that there were alternatives short of an outright ban on kosher slaughtering that the government could have adopted. He called the new rules a "deliberate decision" to override the religious freedom of the Jewish community. He added:"This is a case of misplaced values, bad science and bad legislation." Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, acting President of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia, said that they will do everything possible to get the decision reversed. While there is no direct appeal from the adoption of the new rules which go into effect 24 hours after publication, they could be challenged in court as infringing the country's Bill of Rights Act. The only other countries that ban kosher slaughtering are Iceland, Norway and Sweden. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State In Israel) for the lead.]

German Court Says High School Can Bar Islamic Prayer

In Germany, an appellate court yesterday held that a high school can bar a 16-year old Muslim student from performing namaz, Islamic prayer rituals, at school during his break time. Last year, the Berlin administrative court ruled that Diesterweg High School in Berlin-Wedding must allow a Muslim student known in the litigation as Yunus M. to pray 10 minutes each day in a separate classroom. (See prior posting.) An appellate court in Berlin overturned that ruling. According to Sify News, the school involved enrolls students from 29 different countries. They often argue about religious practices such as wearing of head scarves and fasting. The appellate court said that while a serious potential for conflict justified assigning the Muslim student a separate room for his prayers, the school does not have the capacity to offer the same privacy to all students who might want it. The court concluded that burdening the Muslim student's religious freedom is justified in order to protect the rights of other students and parents to freedom of belief and a calm educational environment.

Catholic School Teacher Fired For Facebook Posting Gets Unemployment Comp

An Iowa administrative law judge has held that a fired Catholic school teacher is entitled to unemployment compensation benefits because the school failed to prove misconduct. Today's Des Moines Register reports that St. Edmonds Catholic School in Fort Dodge (IA) fired 8th-grade math teacher Abby Nurre because of the views she expressed online. Last August she response to a poll on Facebook in which she said she did not believe in God, miracles or heaven. Later she joined a discussion forum, Atheist Nexus, in order to post a link to a New York Times article that indicated the government had spent $2.3 million on prayer research.

The school's board of directors agreed with the principal that Nurre should be fired for violating a school policy against advocating "principles contrary to the dogmatic and moral teaching of the church." At the unemployment hearing, a school official testified: "When students in a Catholic school are running around the school with this survey and it says, 'Do you believe in God?' and it says, 'No,' well, that's in conflict with what we are teaching." The administrative law judge ruled, however, that the postings "did not involve publicly advocating principles contrary to the teachings of the church and did not involve immoral conduct."

Lawsuit Challenges Detroit Area Bus Authority's Refusal of Ad Aimed At Muslims

A federal lawsuit was filed yesterday against the Detroit-area transportation authority challenging its refusal to accept a bus ad directed at Muslims leaving their faith. The ad, sponsored by the Freedom Defense Initiative, read: "Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got questions? Get Answers!" The complaint (full text) in American Freedom Defense Initiative v. Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation ("SMART"), (ED MI, filed 5/27/2010), claims that refusal to accept the ad for display on SMART buses amounted to a content and viewpoint based restriction on free speech in a public forum, as well a a denial of equal protection of the law. Thomas More Law Center issued a press release announcing filing or the lawsuit. (See prior related posting.)

North Dakota Allows "ISNOGOD" Personalized Plate

In Bismarck, North Dakota, the state's Department of Transportation director has granted the appeal of a Fargo resident, Brian Magee for the issuance of a personalized license plate reading ISNOGOD. Yesterday's Bismarck Tribune reports that in his appeal Magee had argued that the state had authorized personalized plates advocating religions, such as ILOVGOD. In his appeal, Magee had urged his preferred alternative option-- refusing all religious messages on plates.

President Signs Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament Act

On Monday, President Obama signed S. 1067, the "Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act." In his Signing Statement, the President said: "The legislation crystallizes the commitment of the United States to help bring an end to the brutality and destruction that have been a hallmark of the LRA across several countries for two decades, and to pursue a future of greater security and hope for the people of central Africa." The Lord's Resistance Army is Christian militant group based in northern Uganda that is classified as a terrorist group by the United States. LRA leader Joseph Kony claims to be establishing a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments and the Acholi ethnic tradition. (Wikipedia.) However President Obama described it quite differently:

The Lord's Resistance Army preys on civilians – killing, raping, and mutilating the people of central Africa; stealing and brutalizing their children; and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Its leadership, indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, has no agenda and no purpose other than its own survival. It fills its ranks of fighters with the young boys and girls it abducts. By any measure, its actions are an affront to human dignity.

Opponent Criticizes Massachusetts Governor For Statements At Muslim Forum

In Massachusetts, state Treasurer Timothy Cahill who is running as an Independent candidate for governor this fall has strongly criticized Gov. Deval Patrick for his performance last Saturday at a forum at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury. Some 1100 people attended the event at the Center that was opened last year. Yesterday's Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported on developments. According to last Sunday's Boston Herald, Patrick was given one minute to answer yes or no to seven questions. He answered yes to all, promising among other things to move on cultural awareness training for law enforcement officers and to urge public and private employers to accommodate Muslims' need to attend religious services on Fridays. Cahill yesterday issued a statement that says in part: "Governor Patrick should stop playing politics with terrorism and focus on protecting all the citizens of this Commonwealth.... Now is the time for Governor Patrick to look radical Islamic terrorism full in the face, call it what it is...."

Activist Challenges Illinois Tourism Grant To Restore Bald Knob Cross

Chicago activist Rob Sherman is pressuring a group that has restored the Bald Knob Cross of Peace, in the Ozark Mountains in southern Illinois, to return the $20,000 from a state grant that was used for part of the cost of the renovations. WSIL-TV reported yesterday that Sherman argues the grant to the Friends of Bald Knob Cross from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity violates Art. X, Sec. 3 of the Illinois Constitution that prohibits state grants for sectarian purposes. The Cross, which stands 1000 feet above sea level was originally completed in 1963 and was a popular tourist attraction. It fell into disrepair and disputes arose among board members that led to litigation which was settled only at the end of 2008. The Cross was reconstructed last year. (History.) A member of the Bald Knob Cross Transitional Board says that the grant was given to promote tourism, and that it has brought hundreds of thousands of tourists to the hill outside Alto Pass, Illinois. Sherman says he will file suit if the funds are not returned within 30 days. He also urged return of $5000 that Union County contributed toward the Cross restoration.

Court Orders Hearing On Preliminary Injunction In Challenge To NY Housing Project

In Broadway Triangle Community Coalition v. Bloomberg, (Sup. Ct. NY, May 20, 2010), a New York state trial court ordered that a further hearing be held next month on a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop a housing development in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Plaintiffs claim that the city's selection in a no-bid process of a Hasidic Jewish organization to develop affordable housing, along with related rezoning, violates the Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. and New York Constitutions, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Federal Fair Housing Act, and the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws. The suit grows out of long-running tensions between the Hispanic and the Hasidic communities in the area. (See prior posting.) Plaintiffs challenge a preference to be given to residents in a community district that is largely white, and also claim that plans to build primarily large apartments and to avoid high-rise buildings will favor Hasidic Jews who will not use elevators on the Sabbath and who generally have large families. Plaintiffs want to increase the height of planned buildings and add smaller apartments (which are in great demand on the Public Housing Waiting List). The New York Times last week reported on the court's decision.

Court Refuses To Add State As Party In Challenge To Released Time Program

In Moss v. Spartanburg County School District No. 7, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51359 (D SC, May 25, 2010), a South Carolina federal district court has denied a motion by the Spartanburg (SC) School District to join the state of South Carolina as a defendant in the lawsuit against the school district over its released time program. The lawsuit is an Establishment Clause challenge to the school district's program of released time for religious education, under which grades assigned by the released time teachers are, without further review, added to the student's official school transcript and used to satisfy an elective requirement. (See prior posting.) The court concluded that the state is not a necessary party since the challenge is to the local policy as applied, not to the state statute. The court also denied permissive joinder because it is only available for plaintiffs to use. However, the court noted that the state, which has not attempted to intervene, may file an amicus brief, which would not jeopardize its sovereign immunity if it wishes to express its views. The court did agree that it would give the South Carolina Attorney General notice of the constitutional issue raised in the case.

New Controversy Over Muhammad Cartoon-- This Time In South African Paper

A new controversy over a newspaper's publication of a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad has erupted, this time over a cartoon published in the May 21 edition of South Africa's Mail & Guardian. As described by the paper's editor Nic Dawes, the cartoon shows "the Prophet Muhammad reclining on a therapist's couch and saying sadly 'Other prophets' followers have a sense of humour'." (Link to cartoon.) The Mail & Guardian reported last week that as the drawing was appearing, the Council of Muslim Theologians tried unsuccessfully to get a South African court to enjoin its publication. The Council said violent reaction to the cartoon was possible. The court refused to interdict publication because the cartoon was already available in the paper's online edition and at some outlets. The paper's editor defended the cartoon, drawn by Zapiro, as "a contribution to the global debate" about depictions of Muhammad. The award winning Zapiro's cartoons have offended many targets of his drawings. London's Guardian yesterday also reported on the controversy.

UPDATE: On May 28, cartoonist Zapiro responded to the controversy with a new cartoon strip depicting his "tough week." The strip does not contain any depictions of Muhammad. The Mail & Guardian on Thursday released a statement after meeting with members of the Muslim community agreeing to review its editorial policy "in light of the injury caused by the cartoon." During the review period it will not publish any depictions of Muhammad.

Proposed Amendment Would Allow Military Chaplains To Close Prayers With Sectarian Language

Rep. Michele Bachman (R-MN) has introduced in the House Rules Committee an amendment to H.R. 5136, the proposed 2011 Defense Authorization Act, that would give all military chaplains the prerogative, if called on to lead a prayer outside of a religious service, "to close that prayer according to the dictates of the Chaplain's conscience." (Full text of proposed amendment.) In the 2007 Defense Authorization Act, the House version included a provision to permit a military chaplain "to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity." (See prior posting.) This did not make it into the final bill. Bachman's current proposal focuses only on the closing of the prayer, not its entire content, and thus seems directed primarily at permitting the phrase "in Jesus name" to be added at the end. God and Country blog reports on the proposed amendment. The Secular Coalition yesterday issued a release opposing the amendment. [Thanks also to Scott Mange for a lead on this.]

UPDATE: Beliefnet reports that on May 27, Rep. Bachman's amendment was rejected by the House as not relevant to the bill.

Cuba's Raul Castro Negotiates With Catholic Church Over Political Prisoners

Yesterday's Miami (FL) Herald reports on talks held by Cuban leader Raul Castro with the Cuban Catholic Church's Cardinal Jaime Ortega on the fate of political prisoners. Analysts say the talks are noteworthy because they represent Cuba's acceptance of the Catholic Church as a middleman for the resolution of important issues in the country.

College Graduation Prayers Generate Faculty Complaints

The Montana ACLU has written higher education officials relaying complaints of several faculty at Montana State University-Northern over the invocation and benediction delivered at this year's graduation ceremony. (Full text of letter.) Pastor Tim Zerger, a Christian evangelical minister affiliated with Community Alliance Church, delivered prayers that were seen by numerous faculty as proselytizing. Faculty attendance at graduation is mandatory. The ACLU argues that the sectarian prayers violated both the federal Constitution's Establishment Clause, and Art. X, Sec. 7 of the Montana Constitution that provides in part: "Attendance shall not be required at any religious service. No sectarian tenets shall be advocated in any public educational institution in the state." A press release issued Tuesday by the ACLU says the group is asking the Montana University System Board of Regents to investigate and take action to prevent similar constitutional breaches in the future.

Church Members Fail To Show "Proper Purpose" To Inspect Certain Church Records

In Two Rivers Baptist Church v. Sutton, (TN App., May 20, 2010), 54 members of the church who had sued the senior pastor and other church officers in a dispute over governance of the church sought various church records under Tennessee's non-profit corporation law. The court held that the members may obtain certain basic records-- such as the charter, bylaws, resolutions and minutes-- which the statute gives them an absolute right to inspect. Enforcing the right does not entangle the court in religious affairs in violation of the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine. However, as to items such as accounting records and membership lists, the statute requires that members show a "proper purpose." The claim that the members were protecting their property rights in the church building and its funds did not meet this standard since members individually have no property right in the corporation's assets.

Times Square Bombing Suspect Gets Halal Food

AOL News reports that last week a federal magistrate judge granted a request by accused Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad that he be served halal food at the federal-run Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. In federal prison, Muslims requesting a halal diet are served kosher food which meets the same criteria. The article gives details of a typical day's menu.