RNS Morning Report - The swastika is not a hate symbol. Hindu students want schools to teach the difference.

Hindu students ask schools to discern the swastika from the Nazi Hakenkreuz   To many South Asians, the swastika has always signaled well-being, good fortune and peace. But in many U.S. public schools, it is still only taught as a symbol of Nazi hate.   In recent months, a small but growing contingent of Hindu students across the country have successfully pushed for curriculum changes and education about the difference between the swastika – used as a devotional symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism – and the Nazi-appropriated symbol called Hakenkreuz, a German word meaning “hooked cross.”   “I think it’s very important that young people are told that the swastika has a very positive meaning, but it has been taken and used as a racist symbol,” Baijayanti Roy, a lecturer and researcher on interactions between India and Nazi Germany at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany, told reporter Trisha Mukherjee. “The swastika does not have any negative connotations, whereas the Hakenkreuz stands for evil.”         Top Stories Hindu students ask schools to discern the swastika from the Nazi Hakenkreuz (RNS) — ‘I think it’s very important that young people are told that the swastika has a very positive meaning, but it has been taken and used as a racist symbol,’ said Baijayanti Roy of Goethe University Frankfurt. ‘The swastika does not have any negative connotations, whereas the Hakenkreuz stands for evil.’ In Weimar, a festival preserves Yiddish culture while reinventing it (RNS) — Since its start, the festival has grown from a weekend workshop with a handful of participants to the largest festival of its kind in Europe. ‘We garden on our knees’: Kew Theology & Gardening project explores faith, nature and climate (RNS) — In a corner of west London, an Anglican church is using its proximity to one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world, Kew Gardens, as a reason for a new venture linking theology and nature. Opinion We need a biblical view of American history (RNS) — A nationalism that ignores the failings of leaders and people is not biblical. As a rabbi, I can’t look away from the West Bank. Neither should you. (RNS) — The Israeli government just indicted a settler for allegedly killing Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen. A rabbi who visited the village where Awdah was killed explains why justice has not arrived in Umm al-Khair. ICYMI In Tennessee, anti-Muslim Republican candidates face defeat (RNS) — Rep. Andy Ogles, who has said Muslims don't belong in the US, narrowly lost his reelection bid, while state Rep. Monty Fritts, who campaigned to ban mosques, placed third in the Republican primary race for governor. A new bipartisan bill in Congress would create protest-free buffer zones around houses of worship (RNS) — The bipartisan bill is intended to prevent protests. It follows a rowdy demonstration outside a Manhattan synagogue last year. 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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