Laws & Judaism

05/08/2022

A. The Supreme Court is apparently on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade, the law guaranteeing women the right to an abortion. Most Jews and Jewish authorities support this right, as Judaism does not view life as beginning at conception. The state of Texas passed Senate Bill 8 last September, greatly restricting women’s access to abortion. The law bans most abortions after 6 weeks, as opposed to the standard set in Roe v. Wade, which generally allows abortion during the first 20 or so weeks of pregnancy. One Texas legislator, when speaking in favor of the law, stated, “It says in the Bible that God worked 6 days, and then he rested. With this law, abortion doctors can work 6 weeks, after which they must rest. Or be arrested.”

B. Many states have passed laws in recent months decriminalizing, and even legalizing, the use of marijuana. In Exodus 30:22-24, it says, “Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Take thou also unto thee the chief spices, of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty, and of kaneh-bosem two hundred and fifty...’ ” It has been suggested by some that kaneh-bosem is actually marijuana, and that this is the derivation of the word cannabis. YIVO (The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research) has just mounted an exhibit at their New York gallery about Jews and marijuana entitled, Am Yisrael High.

C. Along the lines of Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, a New York state senator representing Crown Heights in Brooklyn, home to many Chassidic communities, has introduced similar legislation. The Chassidic community wants to be able to control any discussions about homosexuality or other sexual identity issues in their day schools. Chassidic Jews and most other Orthodox Jews see homosexuality as a sin, based on Leviticus 18:22 which states, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination.” The proposed New York law is being referred to on social media as the “Don’t Pray Gay” law.

D. Many state and local authorities in the United States have passed laws banning the teaching of critical race theory (CRT). CRT views United States social institutions such as criminal justice, housing, and healthcare as embedded in racism, going back to the role of slavery in the history of this country. But opponents have expanded that view to criticize CRT, claiming that it casts all white people as racists. In Israel, the far-right Otzma Yehudit political party has introduced legislation based on anti-CRT laws, calling for a ban in Israel of any teaching in schools about the plight of the Palestinians, claiming that this is an effort to paint all Israelis as racist. Speaking about this issue, Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson recently said, “We shouldn’t be surprised that the same people who are calling you and me racist would also be calling Israelis racist.”

E. Many European countries have passed, or are considering legislation banning the kosher ritual slaughtering of meat. Some believe that this method of slaughter is not humane, and advocate for first stunning the animals, which is not allowed in kosher slaughter. In Belgium there has been much debate about this issue, with some municipalities passing such legislation while others have failed to do so, leading to a headline in the International Herald Tribune reading “Belgian Waffles on Kosher Meat.”

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