RELIGION HEADLINES

Audio By Carbonatix

(SRN NEWS) – The chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party says her side is losing Jewish voters because of the robust Republican response to pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. Nikki Friedman, who is Jewish herself, says “What has been happening in American politics has made a lot of our Jewish brothers and sisters start to question the Democratic Party.” Experts say a narrative of Jews who identified as progressive or left leaning feeling alienated by the left since Hamas’ attack on Israel, is widely established, and Republicans have been benefiting from it.

Britain’s new ban on silent prayer outside abortion clinics has gone into effect but the debate over its legality continues to rage.  Many pro-life advocates say the buffer zone law violates free speech and freedom of religion.  Bishop John Sherrington of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales says “Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one’s private beliefs in public through witness, prayer and charitable outreach, including outside abortion facilities.” Pro-lifers warn that the British government has taken a step backwards on religious freedom.

American school kids are getting more days off now as cities, counties and states begin recognizing the holidays of minority religious groups. In New York City, public school students have a day off to mark the holiday of Diwali (duh-WAH-lee), celebrated by Hindus in India and among the global Indian diaspora — including here in the U.S.. Diwali joins other holidays on the school calendar including Rosh Hashanah, Lunar New Year and the Muslim Eid al-Fitr (eed al-FIT-er). Most places also continue to honor the traditional Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter, though some have dropped Good Friday.

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in this country and most Americans are well aware of it.  According to a new study released by the American Jewish Committee, three-fourths of the general public now believes anti-Semitism is a problem in the U.S.  That percentage is even higher amongst those non-Jews who know someone who is Jewish.  About 90 percent of Americans say everyone is responsible for fighting the problem.  In fact, anti-Semitism is on the rise all around the globe and that trend was underway before the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the on-going war in Gaza.  However, the attack has only made things worse.