RNS Morning Report - Israel's new death penalty law sparks outcry from liberal Jewish groups

Until Monday, capital punishment for murder had been outlawed in Israel since 1954. The death penalty law that passed the Israeli parliament this week has been roundly denounced among liberal Jewish movements in Israel and abroad, for unfairly targeting Palestinians and for being a betrayal of Jewish values. “This legislation represents a sharp and dangerous departure from Israel’s long-standing reluctance to employ capital punishment,” said the Union for Reform Judaism. In the U.S., T’ruah, a rabbinic-led human rights organization, called the law “racist and discriminatory.” “The majority of American Jews oppose the death penalty, which contravenes Jewish teachings,” Rabbi Jill Jacobs, T’ruah’s CEO, told RNS correspondent David I. Klein. “Its adoption by this extremist Israeli government is deeply wrong.” Read Klein’s full report below. Top Stories Israel’s new death penalty law sparks outcry from liberal Jewish groups (RNS) — Rabbinical groups said the law flies in the face of Jewish tradition and violates international principles of due process and equal protection under the law. LGBTQ faith leaders say Supreme Court’s conversion therapy ruling will harm youth (RNS) — The court sided with an evangelical Christian therapist who argued Colorado’s conversion therapy ban restricts her right to free speech. Texas megachurch pastor Robert Morris is free after 6 months in an Oklahoma jail for child sex abuse OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Robert Preston Morris, 64, was released just after midnight, said Osage County Sheriff’s Capt. Matt Clark. Monthslong meditation on impermanence at a remote California Zen retreat meets a real-life fire (AP) — Dozens of other structures were spared thanks to timely action on the part of monks and staff members at the monastery who are no strangers to dealing with fires — whether they are sparked by faulty wiring or by the gusting winds in the wild. UK’s Bible Society on the defensive after retracting report on revival LONDON (RNS) — The society shifted blame for the report to YouGov and insisted its general thesis — that there is a resurgence in Christianity in Britain — still stands. Opinion This Passover, we gather in bomb shelters (RNS) — For millions of Israelis, the Jewish festival of freedom arrives this year inside bomb shelters. One aid worker finds new relevance in the Passover story.   Shiite grief over attacks on Iran’s sacred cities has deep historical roots (The Conversation) — In Shiite Islam, grief is not only personal but collective − expressed through rituals, pilgrimage and devotion to saints. ICYMI Judge rejects Johnson Amendment settlement, keeping ban on pastors endorsing candidates (RNS) — The ruling caps a decades-long battle to overturn a ban on houses of worship endorsing candidates. On the eve of Passover, most US Jews oppose the war in Iran (RNS) — The poll suggests a growing rift between American Jews and Israeli Jews who have thus far supported the Iran war. Support Our Work As a nonprofit newsroom that covers all faiths, RNS sits uniquely at the intersection of freedom of the press and freedom of religion. News tips or feedback? Email comments@religionnews.com. Like the Morning Report? Share it with a friend. Forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. We rely on reader donations to power our reporting. Donate here. Or send a check to: Religion News Foundation PO Box 1808 Columbia, MO 65205

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