As Supreme Court considers religious charter schools, Justice Kagan speculates about publicly funded yeshivas
(JTA) — Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan raised the concern during a hearing Wednesday that New York state could be forced to fully fund yeshivas that offer little education in basic secular subjects like English or math as a result of a landmark case the court will soon decide.
At issue in the case is whether to allow the Catholic Church in Oklahoma to establish the nation’s first religious public charter school. If the court backs the Catholic school, it could pave the way for publicly funding Jewish schools across the country.
The court has a conservative majority of six to three. From their questioning of lawyers arguing on either side of the case, the majority of justices appeared open to the idea that excluding religious institutions from Oklahoma’s charter school system is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Kehlani responds to Cornell concert cancellation: ‘I am not antisemitic’
(JTA) — R&B singer Kehlani denied claims that her pro-Palestinian activism is antisemitic after Cornell cancelled her campus concert amid outcry from Jewish students.
“I am being asked and called to clarify and make a statement yet again, for the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic, nor anti-Jew,” said Kehlani in a video on social media Sunday.
“I am anti-genocide. I am anti- the actions of the Israeli government. I am anti- an extermination of an entire people. I’m anti- the bombing of innocent children, men, women. That’s what I’m anti,” she continued.
Two people appear briefly in the background of the video. Kehlani said both were Jewish and identified one as her best friend and the other as her engineer. She also cited her work with pro-Palestinian Jewish organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist Jewish group.
Senate committee approves amendment to Antisemitism Awareness Act stating criticism of Israeli government isn’t antisemitic
(JTA) — An amendment saying that criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitic was added to the Antisemitism Awareness Act today in a Senate committee hearing.
The amendment was proposed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Jewish progressive leader, and approved in a 12-11 vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
The committee adjourned before voting on the bill itself and another piece of legislation, the Protecting Students on Campus Act, which would require schools to share information about how students can file civil rights complaints through the Department of Education.
A date for the committee vote has not yet been announced. If passed by the HELP committee, the bill will move onto the Senate floor for a final vote.
Social-media companies fail largely to confront online hate, per report
(JNS) — Most major social media platforms fail to respond to both online hate and extremism and disinformation sponsored by foreign states, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s annual report card on digital terror and hate.
The Los Angeles-based nonprofit scored popular digital platforms on 36 factors, based on “responsiveness to flagged hate speech, enforcement of content policies, transparency, cooperation with law enforcement and adherence to international standards, such as the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and the EU Digital Services Act,” the center stated.
