RELIGION HEADLINES SAT 11-15-25

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(SRN NEWS)  A federal appeals court in Ohio has ruled against the state’s fourth largest school district in a case that pitted its gender pronoun policy against the rights of students.  The full Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says that the suburban Olentangy (oh-len-TAN-jee) Local School District cannot force students to call their peers by their preferred pronouns and punish them if they refuse.  The group Parents Defending Education had argued that the policy was unconstitutional.  The lawsuit captured broad national attention, with Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu rights organizations lining up against the policy.  

(  )  The Anti-Defamation League, which combats anti-Semitism, has launched an initiative to track policies and personnel appointments of incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani.  The ADL says the goal is to “protect Jewish residents across the five boroughs during a period of unprecedented anti-Semitism in New York City.”  Many Jews are concerned about Mamdani, who is a harsh critic of Israel and has voiced support for the global intifada.  A conservative pro-Israel newspaper, The Jewish Voice, depicts the city’s Jewish community bracing for an exodus.  New York has the largest Jewish population of any U.S. city.  

(  )  Florida’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, arguing that the organization is misrepresenting the safety of abortion pills.  It is the latest legal challenge aimed at the drugs, which are now the most common way to terminate a pregnancy in this country.  Pro-life advocates have increasingly targeted the pills in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe versus Wade.  In a complaint filed in a state court in Santa Rosa County, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (UTH-meyer) stated that Planned Parenthood is “making false claims about the safety of abortion drugs.”   

(  )  Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war have spilled into K-through-12 schools around the U.S., with advocates reporting a rise in anti-Semitism since the 2023 attack on Israel.  Some argue that school leaders have failed to take the threat seriously. The Trump administration has not punished public school systems the way it has hit colleges that tolerate anti-Semitism, but schools are still facing pressure to respond more aggressively.  Lawmakers in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee have passed measures to increase school accountability for complaints of anti-Jewish expression and California will provide training to public school officials.