Rabbi's Roundtable: The Equality Act - Lakewood vs Bergen County on COVID - Redefining the word Hate

/

This has been another very busy week; the Equality Act alone merited a letter, press release and op-ed. The last was a collaborative effort of Rabbi Yaakov Menken and Natasha Chart, Executive Director of the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF). That group is so far-left feminist and progressive that they believe men have no place in women’s prisons, shelters, sports or facilities – and thus the two writers found common ground.

Next week our rabbis are invited to meet with Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger, representing Tennessee’s first congressional district. Meetings with members of Congress allow them to express their views and focus areas for this congress, and will also make them more responsive when we contact them with our perspective in the future.

LAKEWOOD NJ VS BERGEN COUNTY STARK DIFFERENCES ON COVID

It is interesting how Lakewood is lenient on Covid restrictions ad very open to call out immorality and Bergen County is the exact opposite. How do you explain this phenomena? Is this article mocking the stringent stance on Covid taken by  Bergen County Jews/ Rabbis?

Redefining the word “Hate” in legislation in Canada and how NJ will respond

Federal legislation expected to be tabled within weeks will see a new statutory definition of hate and could also see the reincarnation of a controversial hate speech law.

The new definition, part of legislation aimed at tackling online hate content, will be based on previous court decisions and how the Supreme Court has defined hate, said Arif Virani, parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister David Lametti.

But the government has also not ruled out introducing a form of a controversial hate speech law that was widely criticized over free speech rights. The law, Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, was repealed in 2013 after critics said it amounted to censorship.

Section 13 was “something we consulted on,” said Virani. “We heard feedback on both sides of the ledger. That’s something we’re examining.”

Christine Van Geyn, litigation director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, an organization devoted to defending constitutional freedoms, said the previous civil remedy under Section 13 was “widely seen as highly politicized and discretionary.”