At issue in this case is a wedding photographer who seeks a religious exemption to Louisville's anti-discrimination ordinance for the purpose of denying wedding-related services to same-sex couples. ADL joined 14 other faith-based organizations in a brief led by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The brief argues that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment does not require granting the photographer a religious exemption to this neutral, generally…
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The mission of ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities is to bring international attention to the human rights offenses committed against minority communities in the Middle East. The Task Force consists of regional and topical experts who serve as an advisory body to augment ADL’s work in protecting vulnerable minorities by identifying, elevating, and educating on emerging human rights issues in the Middle East.
The task force is comprised of leading scholars, experts, and…
New York, NY, September 30, 2022 ... In light of the widespread protests across Iran, ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities called on the international community to make clear to the Islamic Republic that it must guarantee women’s rights, human rights, and rights of all ethnic, religious, gender and sexual minorities in Iran.
The protests, sparked in response to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested and imprisoned by the so-called …
August 21 marked the 53rd anniversary of the 1969 al-Aqsa Mosque arson and the ongoing disinformation campaigns scapegoating Jews and Israel for the attack. Although Israeli authorities promptly arrested, tried, and convicted the culprit, Denis Michael Rohan – a Protestant extremist from Australia who believed his actions would prompt the Second Coming of Jesus – Middle Eastern outlets have been publishing inaccurate reports of the event to this day. In a blog published last month,…
August 21 marks the 53rd anniversary of a terrible attack against an Islamic holy site, when a Protestant extremist from Australia named Denis Michael Rohan set fire to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, destroying large parts of the site and irreplaceable artifacts.
Rohan’s crime should rightly be widely condemned and the loss commemorated even five-plus decades later. It is important to note that Rohan, who believed his actions would prompt the Second Coming of Jesus, was…
New York, NY, August 5, 2022 … ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Task Force on Middle East Minorities released the following statement in response to the intensified campaign by the Iranian regime targeting Iran’s Baha’i minority:
“We condemn the recent attacks targeting Iran’s vulnerable Baha’i community, and the July 31 statement by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence which alleged that Baha'is are spies for foreign countries. This is part of the…
New York, NY, June 27, 2022 ... ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) is deeply disturbed by today's Supreme Court decision undermining the separation of church and state enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
“This is a significant change in how we approach prayer in public schools, and one that will have a negative impact in particular on students of marginalized faiths and non-religious students,” said Rachel Robbins, Chair of ADL’s Civil Rights…
Read ADL Letters, testimony and comments sent to Congress and Federal Agencies.
This case involves a public high school football coach who filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination under the Free Exercise Clause and employment discrimination laws after he was fired for refusing to stop kneeling in prayer at the football field's 50-yard line immediately following every game. This practice started after the school district directed him to stop leading his team in pre- and post-game prayer, which the coach had done for eight years prior. The lower courts repeatedly…
At issue in this case is a free exercise challenge to a Maine secondary school tuition assistance program. To provide for high school education in over half of the State’s school districts that do not have public secondary schools, Maine pays for students to attend public or private schools which provide secular education, including religiously affiliated schools that do not indoctrinate religion. The lawsuit was brought by parents seeking to send their children to religious schools. ADL…
At issue in this case is the application of the First Amendment’s ministerial employee exception to an art teacher at a religious elementary school. Grounded in constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, the exception exempts religious institutions from all employment discrimination laws for employees deemed to be ministerial. A lower state court ruled that the teacher, who performed no “vital religious duties,” could move forward with her pregnancy and marital…
April 16, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
The former police officer who was recorded on camera fatally shooting Daunte Wright during a traffic stop was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday. ADL called on Fox News to remove primetime opinion host Tucker Carlson after he openly embraced a white supremacist conspiracy theory in front of millions of viewers. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a watered-down hate crimes bill into law this week, one that ADL and other…
At issue in this case is whether the First Amendment ministerial exception should be expanded to categorically bar any Title VII or other hostile work environment claims by clergy and other ministerial employees of religious organizations. The purpose of the exception is to ensure that faith-based organizations have full control in hiring, firing and disciplining employees who perform religious duties. ADL joined a legal brief rejecting this expansion. The brief asserts that such an expansion…
At issue in this case is a business invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a religious exemption from a state anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding photography services to LGBTQ couples. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that such an exemption is not authorized by the Free Exercise Clause and prohibited by the Establishment Clause. Furthermore, the sought exemption would undermine the state law’s prohibitions on religious discrimination…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a New Mexico coronavirus public-health order. The order limits indoor religious services to twenty-five percent of building capacity, which is similar to or less restrictive than limitations on comparable nonreligious activities. In opposing the church’s claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the public health order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a Colorado coronavirus public-health order. The order limits indoor religious services to the lesser of fifty people (one hundred for large houses of worship) or fifty-percent capacity per room, which is similar to or less restrictive than limitations on comparable nonreligious activities. In opposing the church’s claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the public health order is…
At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a Colorado coronavirus public-health order. The order limits indoor religious services to the lesser of 175 attendees or fifty percent of room capacity, which is similar to or less restrictive than limitations on comparable nonreligious activities. In rejecting this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards…
This case involves a second appeal by a public high school football coach who filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination under the Free Exercise Clause and employment discrimination laws after he was fired for refusing to stop kneeling in prayer at the football field's 50-yard line immediately following every game. This practice started after the school district directed him to stop leading his team in pre- and post-game prayer, which the Coach had done for eight years prior. The Court…
August 28, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Federal investigators announced that they have launched a civil rights probe into the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A sign with the phrase “The Jews Want A Race War” was hung from the heavily trafficked Los Angeles interstate 405 highway overpass on Saturday. The NAACP will replace all leadership of its Philadelphia chapter — including its president, Minister Rodney Muhammad —…
At issue in this case is a religiously affiliated, taxpayer-funded foster care agency seeking to discriminate against same-sex couples applying to be foster parents. Invoking the Free Exercise Clause, the agency claims that its religious beliefs about same-sex marriage supplant a local anti-discrimination law’s prohibition on sexual orientation discrimination. In rejecting this claim, ADL’s amicus brief asserts that the sought exemption is not permitted by the Free Exercise Clause…