RELIGION HEADLINES TUE 1-20

(SRN NEWS)-(  )  YouTube is updating its guidelines for videos containing content that advertisers define as controversial, allowing more creators to earn full ad revenue when they tackle sensitive issues in a non-graphic way.  With the update that went into effect this month, YouTube videos that dramatize or cover issues including abortion, domestic abuse, self-harm, suicide and adult sexual abuse without graphic descriptions or imagery are now eligible for full monetization.  Some pro-life channels were under restriction until YouTube made the rules change.

(  )  A British police chief, who recommended that fans from an Israeli soccer team be banned from attending a match against an English team last year, has stepped down amid criticism.  Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands Police, is bowing to mounting pressure for him to quit over the controversy.  A government report found that the chief’s decision overstated the threat posed by the Israeli fans and understated the risk to them.  The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism had called for the firing of Guildford and is cheering his decision to step down.

(  )  The new head of the New York City Council has a plan to reduce anti-Semitism in the Big Apple.  Amongst other things, Julie Menin wants a 100-foot buffer zone established around all synagogues and Jewish schools to keep protesters at a distance.  New York Governor Kathy Hochul has already offered a buffer zone proposal but it would only establish a 25-foot limit.  Legal experts say both plans are likely to run afoul of the First Amendment and would probably be challenged in court.  Anti-Semitism has been surging in New York in recent years.

(  )   Israel will honor the late Charlie Kirk for his work combating anti-Semitism at a conference next week, four months after the conservative activist was assassinated.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Kirk will be given an award at the International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism in Jerusalem.  Several pro-Israeli leaders are expected to attend the event, among them Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.  Charlie Kirk was a staunch supporter of Israel.  After his death, Netanyahu described him as a “lion-hearted friend” of the country.