RELIGION HEADLINES FRI 3-27

(SRN NEWS)-

(  )  Jews around the world are preparing for Passover, which begins on April 1st this year.  Families will gather at their tables for ritual dinners known as Seders (SAY-ders) where they will recount the biblical story of the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt.  In the United States, most Seders are carried out in English, Hebrew and Aramaic, which was once the lingua franca of much of the ancient Middle East.  In some homes though, another language joins the table: Ladino, a form of Judeo-Spanish that Jews carried across the Mediterranean after being expelled from Spain in 1492.  Only about 15,000 Ladino speakers live in the U.S.

(  )  Jewish leaders have been meeting with Trump administration officials over a spike in anti-Semitic acts in this country.  Gary Torgow (TOR-gaow), chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, sat down with FBI officials recently and said “What we saw in that meeting is a sincere concern and a really active engagement.”  Mathew Kozma of the Department of Homeland Security says “We also need to be on guard for all assailants as America looks forward to hosting both the 2026 World Cup and the America 250th celebrations later this year.”  Anti-Semitism has been rising ever since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

(  )  A bill under consideration in Idaho would make it a crime for men to use women’s restrooms even inside privately owned businesses.  At least 19 states, including Idaho, already have laws barring transgender people from using whatever bathrooms and changing rooms they wish in schools and other public places.  But none of the other statutes apply as broadly to private businesses as the Idaho bill, which covers any “place of public accommodation.”  If the law is passed, anyone who enters a bathroom or locker room designated for the opposite sex could be sentenced to a year in jail for a misdemeanor first offense, or up to five years in prison for a second offense. 

(  )  The Trump administration is in a standoff with San Jose State University.  The Education Department has deemed that there are Title Nine violations involving transgender athletes taking place at the school and says there will be legal action if things don’t change soon.  Officials at SJSU say they disagree with the department’s legal position and findings.  In January, the administration found that the university had discriminated against women by letting a man play on the women’s volleyball team.  The Education Department has taken action against a series of states, schools and colleges that allow men to play against women.