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‘We’re listening’ Israel’s new Diaspora minister gives first public comments in the US BY SELAH MAYA ZIGHELBOIM JTA
From left to right: Rev. Traci Blackmon, Maharat Rori Picker Neiss and Americans United for Separation of Church & State CEO Rachel Laser march to Civil Courts building in St. Louis on Jan. 19. PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE
13 Missouri religious leaders sue to overturn abortion ban 5 Jewish clergy are among the plaintiffs BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Thirteen religious leaders from across the state, including five who are Jewish, filed a lawsuit Thursday in St. Louis Circuit Court challenging Missouri’s abortion ban, arguing that it is unconstitutional because it imposes “one narrow religious doctrine on all Missouri residents and violates the separation of church and state.” The lawsuit, Rev. Traci Blackmon v. State of Missouri, maintains that Gov. Mike Parson and the Missouri legislature violated the state constitution by injecting their personal religious beliefs about abortion into law when they enacted several abortion bans as part of House Bill 126, as well as earlier laws that prohibited abortion access in the state. The faith leaders from St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City allege that legislators “openly and repeatedly emphasized they were writing their religious beliefs into the abortion bans, even declaring in the bill itself that ‘Almighty God is the author of life.’ ” “Abortion bans take away our ability to make our own decision about our own bodies, our health care, our lives
Rabbi James Bennett speaks at a press conference Jan. 19 at the Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in downtown St. Louis, announcing a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s abortion ban. PHOTO: STACY NEWMAN
and our future, based on our own moral and religious beliefs,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The organization, along with the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 13 clergy members. “It’s time for a national recommitment to church-state separation, and we’re
starting in Missouri because here the lawmakers told us that they were injecting their religious views, their holy books, into the abortion ban,” said Laser, who is Jewish. “And the law itself has religious language in it, so it’s easy to demonstrate the way that abortion bans violate church-state separation and are See LAWSUIT on page 16A
AUSTIN, Texas — The new Israeli government is listening to the concerns of more liberal Jews, Israel’s new minister of Diaspora affairs said on Thursday. But Amichai Chikli said that while some proposed changes that worry Americans — including an overhaul to the country’s Law of Return — would happen slowly, any criticism is largely misplaced. “There is a large alarm on the left, it’s obvious, and it affects dramatically most of the Jews who live here in America,” Chikli said at the summit of the Israeli American Council, which aims to keep Israelis in America connected to Israel. “We had an election. The result was crystal clear. We were very honest with our agenda, and it is our responsibility to form this agenda,” he said. “And it does not mean that we are not listening. We do listen, and I spent hours today, yesterday, to listen to Jewish leaders and what they have to say about the Law of Return, about the judicial changes, and everything. We’re listening to the criticism. We’re listening to the concerns. We care about it.” Chikli was making his first public comments outside of Israel since being appointed minister of Diaspora affairs late last month in Israel’s new right-wing government, helmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s decision to ally with extremist parties, including ones that advocate for curbing rights to Arab Israelis, LGBTQ Israelis and non-Orthodox Jews, has drawn concern from across the Diaspora, as has the government’s effort to weaken Israel’s judiciary, which historically has acted to protect the country’s minorities. Diaspora Jewish leaders have raised particular concern about the coalition’s agreement to amend Israel’s hallmark Law of Return, which permits anyone with a Jewish grandparent to claim citizenship. The eligibility rules were crafted to reflect the Nazis’ criteria for whom to kill during the Holocaust, but Israel’s religious parties say that has left the door open to immigrants who are not invested in building a strong Jewish state. Speaking in a live interview with See LISTENING on page 9A