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FAITHHACKER
You choose: Freedom or Tyranny? |
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 by Jordana White, May 10, 2007 |
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The United States officially separates church and state, something for which everyone, from Jewish storeowners opening shop on Sunday to kids not saying other religions’ prayers in school, is grateful.
But a recent court case in Nashville, TN makes me wonder if people are forgetting the importance of these separations.
Some background, as explained by the Nashville Jewish Observer:
Metro Nashville’s Charter requires that runoff citywide elections (necessary if any one Mayoral candidate does not receive greater than 50% of the electoral vote) be held on the second Thursday in September, which this year falls on Rosh Hashanah.
Enter Elinor Gregor, who files a federal law suit challenging the actions of the government. She claims that
The scheduling of the election deprives observant Jews of their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment right to Equal Protection of the Laws.
Her lawyer, George Barrett, explains:
“Ms. Gregor will be required to vote, if she can vote at all, on a date earlier than election day. So election day will be available to all other, non-Jewish voters, but not to Jewish voters. That deprives her—and all other Jewish voters—of the equal protection of our voting laws. It takes away from Jewish voters an opportunity to vote that everyone else has.”
Am I missing something here? Didn’t he just say that Jewish voters will still have the right to vote early? Has he never heard of absentee ballots? Should all the soldiers currently overseas file similar suits because they don’t have the same chance to vote as other Nashville residents, thus violating their First Amendment rights? Nonetheless, despite what seem to be obvious flaws in this case, there’s been public support from both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities on this.
But here’s the thing—of the greater than 1.4 million Metro Nashville residents, fewer than 15,000 are Jewish
At a Crossroads: The separation of church and state may be at risk. While it’s tempting to challenge such perceived affronts to our community, it’s a slippery slope we’re standing on here.
In the Diaspora, Jews are a minority. If we expect our faith to be given pre-eminence in government decisions, it’s only a matter of time before we see other religious groups imposing spiritual demands on the public. Do we want to see a return of the blue laws, or worse yet, blue, green, red and yellow laws, a different set to please each religious group in the country? Now, I’m all for people going to shul on Rosh Hashanah, but come on guys, figure out a way to get everything done without a government injunction. Keep your religious beliefs in the private realm, if you want to maintain the freedom to worship as you alone choose.
Just as a closing note, the government completely disagrees with me….
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Jordana White is a freelance editor in Nashville. She's a new home owner and a newlywed: so much excitement in such a short time! More... |
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Andrew Beirne
Why should any religion have to be treated as a second class citizen? Isn't that the point of separation of Church and State? If Nashville had accidentally scheduled an election for Christmas or Easter, no one would think twice about the need to move the election date. Why should Jews need to hide in the corner because they happen to be a minority in Nashville? The fact that a lawsuit needed to be filed to address this issue just shows why separation of Church and State is so important - it is there to protect religions that the tyranny of the majority would rather see crushed.
Barry Wohl
Why should any religion have to be treated as a second-class citizen?
>>It isn't, it's just a coincidence that the runoff date coincides
Isn't that the point of separation of Church and State?
>>I think the point is to make sure the state isn't overrun by one group who believes in incorporealities. You clearly see it as protection for religion. I think it's for the protection of everyone else FROM religion.
Why should Jews need to hide in the corner because they happen to be a minority in Nashville?
>>They shouldn't, but this is overreacting. It is always prudent to pick your fights well. I'd rather win an important argument down the road, maybe one about establishing an eruv for the community. That usually proves to be much more contentious in cities with small Jewish populations.
elishevaruth
I hate the hypocrisy with which my fell Jews so often approach the First Amendment. The philosophy seems to be that Church and State must be separate, unless the church in question happens to be a synagogue. I bet the woman who filed this lawsuit would go ape if the municipal govt. erected a nativity in front of City Hall, yet she expects the city to adhere to her religious schedule. It's not as if she was denied the right to cast a ballot--voting absentee is still voting. All I can say is, if Nashville, TN is going to observe Rosh Hashanah, Jews had better stop kvetching about Christmas being a national holiday.
Anonymous
I agree with Barry. There's a reason Jews are known for tzechel (common sense). You have to draw a line between clear violations of the seperation and minor inconveniences and trivial issues. Before you know it someone will be saying we have to take "In G-d We Trust" off the money (or that we have to insert a "-" between the G and D).
Jordana White
Andrew, thank you for your comment. I admit that I too was taken aback by the insensitivity of the choice of election date, but at the end of the day it was just that--insensitivity, not a violation of my first amendment rights. I have the right to vote, not necessarily to do so on the day of my choosing.
Additionally, like it or not, Jews are a minority in this country, which is why Christmas is a national holiday and Rosh Hashanah isn't. We can argue about the fairness of that, but it's still a fact. And Easter is always on a Sunday, so no election could ever be set on the holiday.
Just as a side note, Nashville did just get an eruv, something which our Rabbi really had to fight for, so yes, I am of the school of picking one's battles as a community
Rafael
While I agree with your points about being able to vote absentee, I feel there is a meta issue here as well. The by law mandates the second Thursday in September for runoff elections, but where there is a political will to support a goal there is always a legal way to achieve it. If the Board of Elections had even bothered to check a multifaith calendar, it would have been obvious to them that the second Thursday was a major Jewish holy day. Respect for any minority community would have mandated further discussion at city council to deal with this concern.
I suspect that the suit against the city of Nashville has much more to do with anger at the evinced disrespect than with disenfranchisement. Clearly Nashville does not equally value the Jewish Community's participation in the election process or they would have changed the date. I believe this lack of valuing and respecting the role of minority communities within a democracy is worth of a law suit and I fully support it.
Yoni York
All of us that live in the United States should not be surprised when something like this occurs. We are a minority and thus are treated like one. We choose to live here despite the prejudice that we have to live with everyday. I personally will not wear my kippah because I don't want people say "hey look at that jew over there". We could all live in Israel so if Nashville wants to have their election when jews would not be able to vote who cares. We are the minority and the minority does not get their way!
Shawn IV
The only explanation for this ridiculous lawsuit is that Americans love lawsuits and engage in them as a form of entertainment. (Does it beat network TV? I don't know.) And why file a lawsuit when you can just vote in advance, or by mail?
It's good to know that not all Jewish media jump on the bandwagon whenever there's a "we're being discriminated against" lawsuit by Jews.
But is this really about church and state? Reasonable accomodation means that the state provides the same options to someone who can't vote on a particular day b/c of religious reasons as it does to someone who can't come to the poll for other reasons. As long as the government does this, what's the logic of the lawsuit?
wbcoleman
I agree with everything elishevaruth said. What restrictions should Ramadan impose upon the civil government?