Rabbis blast US ‘Equality Act’ for calling Bible ‘bigoted’, attacking religious values

By World Israel News Staff

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), an American rabbinic group, called on Wednesday for the rejection of the Equality Act as “a direct attack on Jewish religious values and practices.”

The Equality Act, H.R. 5, is slated to be voted on Thursday in the House of Representatives.

For example, the text refers to “the sex stereotype that marriage should only be between heterosexual couples” as a discriminatory belief.

In the letter, the rabbis say:

“The Equality Act expressly declares that the Book of Genesis [see 2:24] and all of the Jewish laws pertaining to marriage as a sanctified union between man and woman (called “kiddushin” in Hebrew, from the word “kadosh,” Holy) are nothing more than engagement in discriminatory stereotypes. This is a disgraceful attack upon Jewish Biblical beliefs, rendered no more excusable by the fact that other traditional religious groups have similar tenets.”

The letter also lists other aspects of observant Jewish practices which would be grounds for a discrimination complaint under the proposed legislation, including separate seating at weddings, single-gender dancing, and even separate hours for swimming.

“A law which would require recognition of the gender a person prefers to be… would demand we cease to operate in accordance with our sincerely held beliefs, moral values and religious education — expressly violating our religious liberty,” the rabbis said.

“It is outrageous that Congress would declare us bigoted for simply maintaining our time-honored traditions,” said Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, chairman of the CJV Rabbinic Circle.

“And it is no mere insult; the law even explicitly rejects religious freedom as a defense, meaning it provides Anti-Semites with a new way to persecute the religious Jewish community,” Gordimer said.