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religious freedom
The 1983 Canadian national junior hockey team that competed in the world championship in then-Leningrad. Sherwood Bassin is seated front row center, to the right of the goalie. (Courtesy/Hockey Canada)
September 8, 2019, 3:36 am
The Cold War caper that saw future hockey stars sneak prayer books to USSR Jews
Sherry Bassin says that he was ‘just doing what’s right’ when he convinced Canada’s junior hockey players to hide religious items among their gear for the 1983 championship
By Robert Sarner
Illustrative image of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man in a religious neighborhood in Ashdod performing 'kapparot' ritual before Yom Kippur. (Dima Vazinovich/Flash90)
July 29, 2019, 4:01 pm
Los Angeles Jewish center sued to prevent ‘kapparot’ ritual
The ceremony involves symbolically transferring sins to a chicken swung around participants’ heads
By JTA
Illustrative: A McDonald's restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 2019 (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
July 20, 2019, 2:00 am
Jewish man sues Florida McDonald’s for not hiring him due to his beard
Orthodox plaintiff says manager of fast-food restaurant in Longwood violated his religious freedom when he told him he wouln’t get the job unless he shaved
By JTA
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, survivor of the Tree of Life mass shooting, speaks during a religious freedom summit at the US Department of State July 16, 2019, in Washington, DC (Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
July 17, 2019, 12:22 am
Rabbi of targeted Pittsburgh synagogue says racists must be ostracized
At meeting on religious freedom launched by Pompeo, Jeffrey Myers says hatred will only end when ‘leaders at all levels of government model the behaviors we deem societal norms’
By Shaun Tandon
People walk by a poster from the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) depicting a woman wearing a burqa in front of a Swiss flag upon which are minarets which resemble missiles, at the central station in Geneva, Switzerland, November 4, 2009. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone/AP)
July 16, 2019, 1:45 pm
Government restrictions on religion increasing worldwide, survey shows
Biggest rise in limitations during 2007-2017 was in Europe, with clampdowns on religious dress; European Jewish and Muslim groups complain of attempts to criminalize circumcision
By David Crary
In this Tuesday, July 2, 2019 photo, youngsters spend an afternoon while siting on steps outside a shopping mall in northern Tehran, Iran (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
July 15, 2019, 9:35 am
In Iran, some take off their hijabs as hard-liners push back
The headscarf debate polarizes Iranians at a time when the country is buckling under unprecedented US sanctions
By Karin Laub and Mohammad Nasiri
Members of the Women of the Wall movement hold monthly prayers as thousands of ultra-Orthodox women protest against them at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Old City, March 8, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
July 8, 2019, 7:12 pm
Israel pushes back on US report spotlighting religious freedom woes
Foreign Ministry official admits Washington ‘doesn’t always get it completely right,’ concedes ‘challenges’ with Jewish denominations, ‘significant hiccups’ vis-a-vis Christians
By Marissa Newman
Illustrative photo of a military funeral at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on July 5, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
July 4, 2019, 8:08 pm
Facing lawsuit, IDF allows non-Orthodox Jewish burials
Under previous rules, military funerals could only be presided over by Orthodox rabbis; new regulations to be rolled out in coming months
By Judah Ari Gross
An illustrative photo of a man wearing a kippah. (Carsten Koall/Getty Images via JTA)
June 17, 2019, 1:34 pm
Quebec bans new public servants from wearing kippot, other religious symbols
Measure, which also includes Muslim veils, applies to police officers, judges, lawyers, prison guards and teachers; opponents say it impacts religious freedoms
By AFP and TOI staff
Jewish Home MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli speaks during a Knesset session on July 26, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
January 10, 2019, 12:26 pm
New Right MK under fire for saying Israel should abide by Jewish religious law
MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli recorded speaking about the ‘battle to bring Torah into every aspect of our lives’; opposition lawmakers assail party
By Michael Bachner
Members of the Reform movement hold Torah scrolls during a mixed men and women prayer at the public square in front of the Western Wall, in Jerusalem's Old City, November 16, 2017. (Noam Rivkin Fenton)
December 24, 2018, 8:16 pm
Poll: Israelis increasingly support non-Orthodox Jewry
New survey shows 57% of Israeli Jews believe Reform and Conservative movements should be able to offer their own life-cycle services
By Sam Sokol
Chabad of Towson (Google Streetview via JTA)
December 24, 2018, 7:45 am
Chabad House in Maryland files lawsuit to avert demolition
Ultra-Orthodox sect claims order to tear down 4,000-square-foot extension violates its constitutional right to free exercise of religion
By JTA
File: Iranian Christians attend Christmas mass at a church in Tehran, Iran, December 25, 2007. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
December 10, 2018, 11:25 pm
Iran said to arrest over 100 Christians in crackdown on conversions
While the Islamic Republic permits religious practice by its Christian minority, defection from Islam is a punishable offense
By TOI staff
Illustrative: A participant wears a kippah during a 'wear a kippah' gathering to protest against anti-Semitism in front of the Jewish Community House on April 25, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Carsten Koall/Getty Images via JTA)
October 11, 2018, 11:01 pm
New Quebec government plans to ban public servants from wearing kippas
Jewish groups assail move to limit religious symbols as ‘assault on fundamental freedoms,’ contravention of Canadian rights charters
By JTA
Conservative Jews praying at Robinson’s Arch in Jerusalem, July 30, 2014. (Robert Swift/ Flash90/ via JTA/ File)
September 7, 2018, 4:31 pm
Israelis want American Jewish help in promoting religious pluralism, study finds
Overwhelming numbers of Israelis want a reduction in religious restrictions imposed by the Orthodox state rabbinate, even as most prefer Orthodox practice
By Ben Sales
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