July 28, 2000
ORTHODOX UNION
HAILS CONGRESSIONAL PASSAGE OF RELIGIOUS
LIBERTY LEGISLATION
Tonight,
the Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations of America, through its Institute
for Public Affairs, hailed the U.S. Congress’ passage of the
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
The measure passed both the Senate and House by unanimous
consent in a flurry of pre-August recess activity.
The
“RLUIPA” was sponsored in the Senate by Senators Hatch, Kennedy,
Hutchinson, Lieberman, Smith, Daschle and Schumer, and in the House
by Representatives Canaday, Nadler and Edwards.
A
top legislative priority of the Orthodox Jewish community, and many
other religious communities, this year, this legislation will
redress the severe blows dealt to our nation’s “first freedom”
by the Supreme Court in recent years.
In handing down its ruling in Employment
Division vs. Smith and then, more recently, striking down the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Court has severely impaired
the rights contemplated by the Free Exercise Clause out of our
Constitution. This
impairment has been most directly felt in two areas addressed by
this new legislation – the use of land use regulations to obstruct
the activities of houses of worship, and the ability of prisoners
and other institutionalized persons to receive spiritual guidance as
part of their education and reform programming.
In both those areas, this bill requires the government to
meet a high standard of proof before it may be allowed to interfere
with the free exercise of religion.
Nathan Diament, director of the Union’s Institute, issued the following statement in the wake of the Senate and House
votes:
The Orthodox Jewish community is extremely pleased
with Congress’ passage of this religious liberty legislation.
This measure will give greater protection to religious communities
of all faiths around this nation. It will ensure that they may
build and gather in houses of worship without improper
discrimination or undue interference on the part of government
authorities. And it will give prisoners a greater likelihood of
having access to religious practice as well. It serves the most
basic ideals of our nation founded upon the principle of religious
liberty.
We are grateful to the members of congress and their staffs with
whom we worked intensively to achieve this goal over the past
several months. We look forward to President Clinton signing this
measure into law in the coming days to the benefit of all
Americans of faith.
###
Union of Orthodox
Jewish Congregations of America
Institute for Public Affairs
Main Office:
11 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-613-8124 Fax: 212-564-9058
E-mail: ipa@ou.org |
Washington Office:
1640 Rhode Island Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-857-2770 Fax: 202-331-916
E-mail: ipadc@ou.org |
Prof.
Richard Stone, Chairman
Nathan Diament, Director
Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International
Affairs & Communal Relations
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