Religion Dispatches
…n ancestors come not from Russia but from Belorussia, Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania. But the historical persecution that shaped Ashkenazi Jewry, and subsequently the great majority of Jewish immigration to the United States, South Africa, and elsewhere, was by no means the only or the normative condition that Jews have known in the course of history. In fact, the models of Judaism and Jewishness developed relatively recently in Eastern Europe—the…
Read More…ructing the public to report anyone they suspect of being a homosexual or “promoting homosexuality.” As in Uganda, reports AI, Zambian publications have been “outing” individuals. Zimbabwe: Mugabe Denounces Homosexuality (Again) Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe celebrated his 90th birthday by denouncing homosexuality, something he has done many times before. Russia: More on the World Congress of Families, Fears of Loss of Olympic Spotlight We…
Read More…arriage equality, strong hate crimes laws, and the rights of trans people. Lithuania: Set to Vote on Anti-Gay Propaganda Law Human Rights First noted that the Lithuanian Parliament is scheduled to vote today, March 13, on a Russian-style anti-gay “propaganda” law. The law includes fines for any public display that defied traditional family values. “This amendment targeted at repressing the LGBT community is part of an alarming trend throughout Eas…
Read More
…their Jewish neighbors. Blood libel cases spread eastward into Poland and Lithuania in the early modern period, and into the Middle East, Greece, Russia, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire by the nineteenth century. The famous so-called Damascus Affair of 1840, which saw Jewish leaders from Western Europe defend Syrian Jews from the blood libel, stimulated treatises by anti-Semitic agitators, along with scholars who defended Jews and pseudo-scholars…
Read More…the rules become clearer. Estonia, which like Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union for almost five decades, is considered the most Western-oriented of the former Soviet republics. Estonian Public Broadcasting has more details, noting the difficulties in getting implementing acts through Parliament. India: Human Rights Watch Urges Repeal of Sodomy Law Human Rights Watch this week said there is an “urgent need” to…
Read More…Croatia, which in December 2013 passed its ban. Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland also ban same-sex marriage.” South Africa: President ‘Respects’ Ugandan Law; Gay Judge Publishes Memoir In response to a parliamentary question this week, South African President Jacob Zuma refused to condemn Uganda’s anti-gay law, writing, “South Africa respects the sovereign rights of other countries to adopt their own legislation. Also this week, Edw…
Read More
…p to help people fleeing persecution in Chechnya: Canada, France, Germany, Lithuania, and another country “which wants to remain anonymous.” CNN reports that Ali Feruz, a gay journalist who works at the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, has sought refugee status to avoid being exported to Uzbekistan. Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International spokesperson, said: Ali Feruz is openly gay, a human rights activist and a correspondent for the independe…
Read MoreQ.: Should we be at all surprised that David Brooks’ latest column is a steaming pile of platitudes? A.: No. Brooks is a master of the thunderingly obvious. We should be grateful for this, as it seems to be the only thing that prevents him from veering off into the territory of the demonstrably wrong. Q.: Should we be surprised then that Brooks passes on somebody else’s platitudes as if they were prophetic oracles? A.: No. Brooks is also a master…
Read More
…saults from the newly-emboldened Republicans. Calling the administration’s latest retreat “lamentable,” the Globe says that the White House “should have stuck by its convictions.” Mind you, the regulation would not have required physicians to have these conversations with patients; it would merely have made sure that the doctor’s time is covered in the event that the subject gets raised during the course of a regular check-up. And, as the Globe co…
Read More
Pam Geller has unveiled her latest subway ad which turns out to be just as absurd and offensive as the last—though with quite a bit more irony to it. “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers,” it reads, quoting a snippet translated from the Qur’an. As one of the folks behind the #MySubwayAd response to her last round of hateful and wasteful spending, I was pleased to see how absolutely disgusted New Yorkers were, with some e…
Read More