(JTA) That small little law known as the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits electioneering by houses of worship and other charities and which President Trump has vowed to repeal, is exceptionally important to preserve. Even if it is not widely enforced, the permission it grants to the Internal Revenue Service to pursue violators is critical to…
Two Michigan doctors being prosecuted for performing and aiding the female circumcision of two girls are defending themselves against federal prosecutors with a religious liberty defense. The medical professionals, Dr. Jumana Nargarwala and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, are said to have cooperated in the performance of FGM on two young girls brought to Michigan for the…
Are Christians the most persecuted religion in the World? A claim to this effect made by Vice President Mike Pence is creating a stir. Speaking at the first ever World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians, convened in Washington DC last Thursday, Pence told the audience of Christian activists that “Christian faith is under siege”…
Before President Trump signed the “religious liberty” executive order on May 4, rumors about the contents of the rule spurred many rumors, as well as the requisite dire warnings from many in the media. Headlines in recent days declared such things as “Trump’s ‘religious liberty’ executive order is meant to legalize anti-LGBT discrimination” (Salon) and…
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. It was the most disturbing experience I had during my almost two years studying in yeshiva in Israel. My friend who studied in a small yeshiva on the outskirts of one of the oldest neighborhoods in Jerusalem had invited me to spend the…
Textbooks on secular subjects in Israel are infused with religious Jewish content, according to a review of 80 books published in the past 10 years conducted by the Israeli parents group the Secular Forum, reported Haaretz. The group called the use of religious themes to explain secular subjects a “systematic and ideological move” to “reshape…
An Israeli government ministry plans to keep track of Jews who marry around the world with an international database of Jewish marriage and divorce, the Jerusalem Post reported. The database is meant to stop Jews from marrying another partner if they are already married, but religious freedom advocates warn that such a list could be…
There’s no Jewish caucus in Congress like the one that serves Hispanic lawmakers, for example, or African-American representatives. But rumors of an upcoming presidential executive order on religious freedom has led Jewish members of the House, at least the Democrats in the bunch, to pen a joint letter to the White House urging Trump to…
100% of profits support our journalism
