c. 1997 Religion News Service
Dalai Lama to join Jewish activists at Passover Seder
(RNS) Jewish activists have added the theme of Tibetan independence from Chinese domination to this year’s celebration of Passover, and have organized a Seder meal in Washington, D.C., to be attended by the Dalai Lama.
Passover, which begins the evening of April 21 with the first of two Seders, or ritual meals, recalls the Exodus of the Hebrew slaves from ancient Egypt. Over the years, various independence struggles _ Jewish and non-Jewish alike _ have been linked to the holiday.
Since 1990, the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled religious and political leader, has met with Jewish representatives to learn what he could about preserving Tibetan culture in diaspora, just as Jewish religion and culture survived nearly 2,000 years without a homeland. China invaded Tibet in 1949, prompting large numbers of Tibetans to flee their homeland. The Dalai Lama lives in India.
In the current issue of”Reform Judaism”magazine, Roger Kamenetz, a Jewish writer and college professor living in New Orleans, said the Passover ritual of remembering Jewish slavery in Egypt has”sustained the nation and people of Israel (and has) also taught us to feel the pain of other oppressed peoples.” Kamenetz, author of”The Jew in the Lotus,”a book about the Tibetan-Jewish dialogue, compared the Chinese occupation of Tibet to the Jewish experience in Egypt. He urged Jews to recall the Tibetan plight at Seders this year and invite Tibetan exiles to their homes for the ritual meal.
Hillel, the campus Jewish organization, has organized”Passover Seders for Tibet”at a host of university campuses around the nation.
In Washington, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is sponsoring a Seder meal the afternoon of April 24. Because it is not being held on the nights of April 21 or 22, it will not be a true Seder, but a replication.
Kamenetz said the Dalai Lama has never attended a Seder of any kind.
In response, the Dalai Lama issued a Passover statement thanking”our Jewish brothers and sisters (who) have been outspoken and generous in their support and assistance to the Tibetan people.” Muslim awarded $2.9 million in airline discrimination case
(RNS) A California jury has awarded $2.9 million to a former United Airlines worker who claimed he was a victim of discrimination and wrongfully fired because he is a Muslim.
United said it would appeal the decision reached Friday (March 28) following a two-week trial in Fremont, Calif. The jury awarded Ahmad Abu-Aziz $246,201 in economic damages, $50,000 in damages for emotional distress and $2.67 million in punitive damages.
Abu-Aziz, 29, is a Jordanian Muslim who is a permanent resident of the United States. He began working for United Airlines in 1994 at Oakland International Airport, where he said he was compared to a terrorist. He also said other workers made derogatory comments about his name, religion and national origin and that he received unfair work assignments.
After he complained to supervisors, co-workers accused him of drinking on the job and stealing company property _ both of which he denied _ and he was fired.
“The Muslim community must now demand that United Airlines change its internal policies in light of this decision,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
According to a statement from CAIR, Abu-Aziz said he feels vindicated by the court decision.”Justice has been served,”he said.
Miami church fights newspaper’s ad refusal
(RNS) A Miami church that had requested space on the Miami Herald’s yellow “polybag” covers to advertise its Easter services is fighting a decision by the paper to run the ad inside the publication instead.
The nondenominational, charismatic Jesus Fellowship wanted newspaper customers to see its name in large letters, along with times of services, on the yellow bag Herald papercarriers use to protect newspapers from the elements.
But instead of printing the ad on the bag, the publisher decided to run the ad _ free _ three times in the Herald’s front section where it was surrounded by other ads, according to a Washington Times report.
“It was my way of bending over backwards to be fair,” said Miami Herald Publisher David Lawrence Jr.
The church, which said a Herald salesman told them the paper rejected the ad as “offensive,” set up a Web site to protest the decision.
The Herald has received hundreds of e-mails from across the country and around the world in response to the Web site, and by Monday (March 31), Lawrence had received 25 faxes, a slight majority of which favored his position.
“It seems to me insensitive to many people of another faith to go outside their doors in the morning, expect their newspaper, and be greeted by a bag on behalf of another faith,” Lawrence said.
“It also seems to me that many Christians would feel exactly the same about that bag on behalf of a non-Christian faith. A plastic bag with such a message would feel intrusive to some readers, I thought.”
The Herald ran a “Happy Easter” banner on Sunday’s front page along with a story about a reawakening of spirituality, said Lawrence, a Roman Catholic who said he doesn’t back off from matters of faith.
Rick Patterson, the church’s pastor, was not convinced by Lawrence’s reasoning.
“There is only one name (Jesus) on that ad anyone could construe as offensive,” said Patterson. “If it is `insensitive’ on the outside of the polybag, then it is insensitive on the inside of the paper.”
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis declare non-Orthodox synagogues off-limits
(RNS) A small, ultra-Orthodox rabbinical group has issued a”halachic ruling”saying Jews should not pray in Reform, Conservative and other non-Orthodox synagogues. A halachic ruling is a declaration made in accordance with traditional Jewish law.
The ruling said it was better to pray at home than enter a non-Orthodox synagogue even for services on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and one of Judaism’s holiest holidays.
The much publicized ruling _ announced Monday (March 31) in New York by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis _ has little practical effect and is actually a restatement of declarations made over the years by numerous Orthodox rabbis. It is binding only for those Jews who choose to make it so.
When first reported more than a week ago, the ruling was misinterpreted to say that Reform and Conservative Jews were no longer Jews.
Despite its limited importance, the ruling has caused a stir by coming in the midst of a larger Orthodox-versus-non-Orthodox battle in Israel over official recognition. Tuesday, Israel’s parliament gave preliminary approval to controversial”Who is a Jew?”legislation that would only recognize conversions to Judaism in Israel performed by Orthodox rabbis.
Virtually all responses issued by other U.S. Jewish groups to the halachic ruling have been in opposition. Orthodox groups have generally called for Jewish unity and have termed the union’s ruling provocative and unnecessary. They have also noted the union’s limited membership and influence even within the Orthodox community.
Non-Orthodox groups have dismissed the ruling as inconsequential for the bulk of the 5.8 million-member U.S. Jewish community, more than 90 percent of which is non-Orthodox.”This entire matter is about as serious as a tempest in a teapot,”said Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin, president of the Reform Central Conference of American Rabbis.”We might do best simply to ignore (the union’s) grandiose rhetoric rather than dignify it by a response.”
Quote of the day: Iranian philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush
(RNS) Abdolkarim Soroush, a professor at Tehran University, is one of Islamic Iran’s most controversial figures because of his belief that interpretation of the Koran varies according to time, place and other circumstances. He is also a champion of human rights. On Monday (March 31), he gave a rare public speech in the United States. He said:”A religion oblivious to human rights is not tenable in the modern world. Extra-religious debates must be viewed as worthy, useful exchanges in Islamic society.” MJP END RNS
