RELIGION HEADLINES SAT 12/27/25

B SECTION READERS FOR SATURDAY, 12/27

(  )  America’s largest kosher certifying organizations are taking a closer look at beer, which has long been considered kosher by default.  Due to the proliferation of flavorings brought on by craft brewing and other industry changes, the rabbis who declare food products to be in line with Jewish dietary laws now say to check the label before drinking.  Rabbi Moshe Elefant of the Orthodox Union says “We’ve seen more than one situation in which some beers have dairy in them.  They add lactose, they add milk, so a beer could be dairy, which has very serious kosher ramifications.”  The certifying organizations are coming out with new guidance on beer. 

(  )  One of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s appointees has resigned over social media posts she made that featured anti-Semitic tropes.  Catherine Almonte Da Costa, who was tapped to join the incoming administration, has expressed “deep regret” for the posts, which date back to 2011 and 2012.  The Anti-Defamation League first publicized the three tweets from Da Costa that included such phrases as “money-hungry Jews”.  She had been selected to lead Mamdani’s office of appointments, having worked in the office more than a decade ago and more recently held roles at a private communications firm and at Sotheby’s. 

(  )  The Australian state of New South Wales is proposing a ban on public displays of the ISIS flag and other extremist symbols.  This follows the mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month that killed 15 people.  The draft laws include penalties of up to two years in prison and fines.  Premier Chris Minns says chants like “globalize the intifada” will also be banned.  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to curb radicalization and hate, including broadening hate speech definitions and toughening punishments.  The prime minister says “Australia will not allow these evil anti-Semitic terrorists to divide us.” 

(  )  The Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to keep children from undergoing sex-change operations.  Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy says “This is not medicine; it is malpractice.  Sex-rejecting procedures rob children of their futures.”  Medicaid programs in slightly less than half of states currently cover sex-change operations.  Another 27 states have adopted laws restricting or banning those procedures.  The Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding Tennessee’s ban means those other laws are likely to remain in place.