Fwd: Religion and the Law

"Religion and the Law"

Rabbi James Cohn and Guests

 

Temple Israel

2312 Kanawha Blvd. East

Charleston WV 25311

 

Freedom, discrimination, and hate crimes –  a tour of the legal thickets

(with Civil Rights Division Deputy Attorney General Paul Sheridan)

Wednesday, March 23, 7:00-8:30 pm

How sacred is our freedom of religious observance? Is the spectrum of protected belief and action infinitely broad, or does it have limits? When does the majority justly curtail the freedoms of a minority?

Is a "non-denominational" prayer at the start of the public school day legal, if it's composed and read by a student?

Is a swastika drawn on the door of a temple or synagogue a hate crime?  What if it's ordinary gang graffiti that's spray-painted on the door?  Are the crimes different, and should the punishments be different?

We know that hate exists, and we know that crime exists.  But what – exactly – is a "hate crime?"

 

Eyewitness testimony, the death penalty, and the right to remain silent

(with Public Defender George Castelle)

Wednesday, March 30, 7:00-8:30 pm

Do our eyes and ears deceive us? The question is not merely an abstraction.  A person's life can depend on how certain we are of what we think we've seen and heard.  Should a person's life depend on that certainty (or lack of it)?

Life is complicated when it comes to who gets sentenced to death, and who doesn't – and why. Just ask the people convicted of murder on the perjured testimony of now-deceased West Virginia forensic witness Fred Zain.

The rabbis of the Talmud anticipated this problem, and warned us about it.

Highlighting the complexities of Jewish history in this area, Rabbi Cohn says, "Maybe that's why there no death penalty in Israel.  But wait, there is.  But no one has ever been executed in Israel.  But wait, Eichmann was.  But wait, he was the only one.  But wait, no he wasn't. Isn't it interesting how modern Israeli law is based on Jewish law? Oh wait.  No, it isn't."

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Sky Kershner, 304-346-9689 x13
Kanawha Pastoral Counseling
Charleston, WV

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"Developing an Attitude of Gratitude" Mar 25 & 26 2011