RELIGION HEADLINES TUE 9-15

(SRN NEWS)-

(  )  As anti-Semitism rises around the globe a debate over Zionism has also begun and it is most fiercely contested within the Jewish community itself.  According to a poll by the Jewish Federations of North America, the vast majority of American Jews believe that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state.  Yet only around a third of poll respondents identify as Zionists. This may be because many Jewish Americans think Zionism includes other beliefs, too — beliefs that they do not share.  Experts say that Zionism has a long history and is a diverse ideology that has changed over time and become the official ideology of the state of Israel.

(  )  A battle over religion has sprung up on Native American land in Wyoming.  The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes that share the Wind River Reservation want a local pastor to close her church and leave.  Sarah Lucas, who is not Native American but owns the land under her church, says she isn’t going anywhere.  The conflict stems from a video that circulated in July in which Lucas called the Arapaho sundance festival a form of “idol worship”.  The pastor says her words reflect her interpretation of the Bible and are constitutionally protected.  The tribes say they may go to court to evict the church.

(  )  Court cases involving Twin Cities churches and immigration enforcement highlight how the acrimonious debate continues to roil faith communities in Minnesota.  More than three dozen anti-Trump protesters have asked for their charges to be dismissed after they disrupted a worship service in a St. Paul church.  In a separate case, a liberal Minneapolis Baptist church is asking for the government to be reprimanded after allegedly spying on protest-related activity on its property.  A spokesman for the St. Paul congregation says “Nobody has the right to storm a church.  The invasion traumatically impacted the life of the church family.