Ohio Prisons Deny Messianic Jews Kosher Food, Label Them Protestants

B"H

Thank G-d. I am so glad that someone is seeing these parasites for what they are. They are not Jews. As Ohio so well names them: They are Protestants.

They don't need kosher food. They don't need services on Shabbat. They are xtians.

I hope they do take it to court and it becomes official that they are protestants.

When you believe in JC, you are not a practicing religious Jew. You are a practicing religious xtian.

There is nothing wrong with being a xtian. Why don't they just admit what they are? Are they ashamed of being xtians?

I have no problem with xtians who say they are xtians, but parasites who say they are Jews in order to lure unknowing Jews to xtianity are the lowest form of life.

M
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Messianic Jewish inmates claim discrimination
Ohio prisons label them Protestants, deny them more-costly kosher meals
Friday, July 18, 2008 3:16 AM
By Meredith Heagney
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/07/18/mjprisons.ART_ART_07-18-08_B3_3TAPJPT.html?sid=101

Messianic Jews believe in Jesus. But they still consider themselves as faithful to Judaism as anyone else.

They want to eat kosher meals, avoiding pork and shellfish and not mixing meat and dairy products. But if they are inmates in Ohio prisons, they are out of luck. Kosher meals are a privilege afforded only to traditional Jews.

In Ohio prisons, Messianic Jews are labeled Protestants.

At least four prisoners at Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield have filed grievances, alleging discrimination by a Christian-led prison system.

They also contend that they're denied a consistent place to worship on their Sabbath, which lasts from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown.

"This grievance is all about discrimination of a religious sect, and the conspiracy for the deprivation of rights secured by the Constitution," wrote Richland inmate Ronald Lutz, 64. He is serving 17 years for attempted theft, forgery, extortion and other crimes.

The prison argues that kosher meals aren't a basic tenet of faith for Messianic Jews. And with a tight budget, the prison system is opting to feed them the cheaper non-kosher meals.

Federal law says the government cannot impede the religious exercise of a prisoner unless those restrictions support a compelling governmental interest. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld that law in 2005 when it came under attack by Ohio prison officials.

Nobody is being discriminated against, said the Rev. Gary Sims, religious-services administrator for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

He revoked kosher privileges for Messianic Jews in 2004 after consulting with Messianic Jewish rabbis, who told him the special meals weren't essential.

Prison budgets are tight, Sims said. A non-kosher meal costs about 95 cents; a kosher one, between $5 and $6.

The Messianic Jews at the Richland prison have to meet on Sundays because there's no volunteer to serve them on their Sabbath, and the regular chaplains are off, Sims said.

The prison system is re-evaluating its religious-accommodation policies, said Sims, who couldn't say whether any of the rules regarding Messianic Judaism might change.

Rabbi Howard Silverman of Beth Messiah Congregation in Gahanna, a Messianic congregation, acknowledges that although keeping kosher is an important tradition, it is not a law for Messianic Jews.

Sims doesn't know how many Messianic Jews are among Ohio's 50,000 inmates because they're classified as Protestants.

The inmates have an ally on the outside. The Rev. Mark Butler teaches three Bible classes a week at the Marion prison and said inmates there have the same complaints. Butler practices Messianic Judaism.

"It feels like a part of them is being denied," Butler said.

The Messianic Jews receive kosher meals on Jewish holidays, Sims said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia civil-liberties organization, are investigating the Messianic Jews' complaints.

But for now, the Messianic Jews must eat what's on their plates.