Freedom
to cut babies, but not from being cut
The Jerusalem Post
May 19, 2016
House passes bill protecting circumcision, ritual slaughter as
religious freedoms
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A bill unanimously approved by the
U.S. House of
Representatives would extend religious protections to advocates of
circumcision and ritual slaughter as well as atheists, addressing what
its sponsors describe as an increase in religious persecution in recent
years.
The bill, passed Monday, would broaden the definition of
“violations of religious freedom” in the International Religious
Freedom Act of 1998 to include
the
persecution of advocates of male
circumcision or ritual animal slaughter.
[Does that include any opposition
to male genital cutting or ritual slaughter?]
Atheists would become a new
protected class.
The measure, which moves to the Senate for
consideration, was
named for retired Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., a longtime champion of human
rights who authored the 1998 law.
|
114th CONGRESS
2D Session
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 17, 2016
Received; read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
AN ACT
To amend the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to improve the ability of the
United
States to advance religious freedom globally through enhanced
diplomacy, training, counterterrorism, and foreign assistance efforts,
and through stronger and more flexible political responses to religious
freedom violations and violent extremism worldwide, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SEC. 102.
Annual Report on
International Religious Freedom.
(a)
In
general.—Section 102(b)(1) of the International Religious
Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6412(b)(1))
["Each Annual Report {of the Ambassador at Large for International
Religious Freedom} shall contain the following:"]
is amended—
(3)
in subparagraph (B)
["Violations of Religious Freedom"], in the matter preceding clause (i)
["An asseessment and description of the nature and extent of violations
of religious freedom in each foreign country, including persecution of
one religious group by another religious group, religious persecution
by governmental and non-governmental entitites, persecution targeted at
individuals or particular denominations or entire religions..."—
(A)
by inserting “persecution of lawyers, politicians, or other human
rights advocates seeking to defend the rights of members of religious
groups or highlight religious freedom violations, prohibitions on ritual
animal slaughter or male infant
circumcision,” after “entire religions,”...
|
“The world is experiencing an unprecedented crisis of
international religious freedom, a crisis that continues to create
millions of victims; a crisis that undermines liberty, prosperity and
peace; a crisis that poses a direct challenge to the U.S. interests in
the Middle East, Russia, China and sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere,”
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who authored the bill, said in a statement.
There have been increasing calls in recent years in
northern
European countries for an end to circumcision and ritual slaughter,
spurred in part by anti-Muslim hostility
[but
mainly by a well-founded concern for human rights],
U.S. government and European
Jewish officials have said.
[And
that constitutes "persecution of advocates" how?]
The bill’s tier system for how well or poorly countries
protect
religious freedom would be similar to the one used in the annual State
Department report on human trafficking. That report is influential, and
countries seeking the good graces of the United States strive to
improve their ranking by cracking down on the practice.
Smith is the chairman of the House subcommittee on human
rights, and as a co-chairman of the Helsinki Committee, the
congressional panel that monitors human rights overseas, has made the
resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe a focus.
Smith’s office, announcing the passage of the bill,
headlined
the statement “Combating Persecution of Christians and Anti-Semitism,”
although many of its protections would extend in the current climate to
moderate Sunni Muslims and non-Sunni Muslim sects in the Middle East,
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Myanmar.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., the bill’s lead Democratic
sponsor,
said in the same statement that the bill would “better address the
religious freedom and violent extremism problems being experienced in
the 21st century.”
The bill integrates the 1998 law’s protections into U.S.
national security priorities, mandating that the ambassador at large
for religious freedom – currently Rabbi David Saperstein, a veteran
Reform movement leader — report directly to the secretary of state. It
also adds new requirements for presidential reporting to Congress on
religious freedom violations and training for diplomats in identifying
violations of religious freedoms.
