News & Information for the Week of
March 7th - March 12th, 2021
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A nearly two trillion dollar bill signed by President Biden, briefs filed in two lawsuits, and continuing engagement on issues in Ohio, New York, and New Jersey among other states...Just a typical week at the Agudah!
I encourage you to click on the image on the right and watch Rabbi Yitz Frank's legislative update from Ohio. His report explains how the current state budget proposal not only helps families in Ohio choosing nonpublic schools, but has an effect on other states across the country.
While much of our advocacy efforts this legislative session has been conducted virtually, we encourage you to stay engaged and let your voices be heard by voting and contacting your elected officials about the issues that are important to you and your community.
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The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan of 2021 was signed into law this week and contained numerous provisions that will bring vital relief to individuals, families, nonprofits, and schools. For a summary of some of the provisions, our friends at Roth and Co. published this document.
Agudath Israel's vice president for government affairs Rabbi Abba Cohen worked diligently and successfully on several aspects of the bill especially in ensuring that our nonpublic students receive their fair share of education funds. Agudah worked with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others to successfully push for a change in the Senate that provides $2.75 B to nonpublic students in the same framework, along with its key benefits, as the December stimulus bill. We hope to share more information about the education funding provisions next week.
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Thank you to those who watched my one minute video message (here) and already participated in our constituency drive. In order to strengthen our work in statehouses across the country and in Washington, DC please help us raise our constituency numbers. Please join me in participating in our constituents drive by registering yourself and your family as an Agudah constituent for $1.50 per family member. Please go to TheAgudah.org or call 212.797.9000 to register your family members in this special campaign.
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New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy visited Lakewood this morning to observe the vaccine distribution at CHEMED. While there, community leaders, including Agudath Israel's Rabbi Avi Schnall, took the opportunity to thank the Governor for his devoted leadership and religious sensitivity during the pandemic and presented him with a plaque (and a box of Matzos). |
As part of the continuing efforts of the Agudah Voting Project, our New York office hosted a town hall Zoom meeting with New York City mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan.
The Agudah Voting Project has held virtual town events previously with mayoral candidates Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Maya Wiley, and Andrew Yang and is looking forward to town halls scheduled for additional candidates in the coming weeks.
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Navigating the mute and video buttons on Zoom, rather than the halls of the Capitol Building in Albany, was a new experience for those participating in the third and final installment of the Agudah’s virtual Albany Day series on Tuesday, with meetings focusing on the Hudson Valley, encompassing Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Sullivan Counties.
To read more about the meetings click here.
Though the formal group Albany Days have concluded, Agudah staff and activists will be continuing to advocate with legislators and their staff following up on the issues discussed up until the final budget is adopted at the end of March.
“The pandemic canceled a lot over the past year, but the need for advocacy has only grown. That is why it is extremely important that we meet with our legislators to discuss important issues facing the community. Holding Albany Day over Zoom was a unique challenge and a new experience for us, but the legislators were just as engaged and involved as if we were meeting in person in Albany. We thank them and their staff for making themselves available and look forward to continuing our relationships with them and I hope by the time it comes around to next year’s meetings, we will be able to meet in the Capitol in Albany,” Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, Agudah’s director of New York government relations, said.
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Agudath Israel Urges Federal Court to Allow Lawsuit Against Bank that Financed Terrorism
Agudath Israel of America submitted an amicus curiae “friend of the court” brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case of Spetner v. Palestine Investment Bank. The case – which is brought by American citizens whose family members were injured or killed in terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada – asks that the court allow a lawsuit to proceed against a bank that was used by terrorist organizations to encourage attacks against Jews by providing financial assistance to families of suicide bombers and other terrorists.
The case had been dismissed earlier by a federal district court on the technicality that the court did not have jurisdiction to allow the lawsuit to proceed because the Palestine Investment Bank used other banks as intermediaries to distribute the “rewards” to families of terrorists. The families of the victims have appealed that decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the district court decision should be overturned.
The amicus curiae brief submitted by Agudath Israel of America argues that under federal anti-terrorism legislation Congress expressly intended that American citizens should have a “private right of action,” meaning the ability to bring a lawsuit in American courts, for anyone injured by acts of terrorism even if they occurred in other countries. The brief argues that banks that finance terrorism should not be allowed to avoid liability by using intermediary banks to finance terrorist activities.
The amicus brief was researched and written by Douglas Mitchell and Scott Whitman of the law firm of Jenner & Block, which agreed to produce the brief pro bono for Agudath Israel. Other organizations joining the brief were the Orthodox Union, StandWithUs, and the One Israel Fund.
Rabbi Mordechai Biser, Special Counsel for Agudath Israel, stated, “We thank Douglas Mitchell and Scott Whitman and the Jenner & Block law firm for producing this important brief, and we hope that the Second Circuit will agree that American citizens should have recourse through American courts to hold financial institutions that finance and support terrorism accountable and liable for their actions. The blood of the victims of terrorism cries out for justice.”
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Agudah Urges the Supreme Court to Uphold the Religious Liberty of All Students
Agudath Israel of America has joined an “amicus curiae” (friend of the court) brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of Carson v. Makin, which was brought by parents with children attending religious schools in Maine. Although many private school students in Maine are eligible for state tuition funding, a state law says that the state will not pay tuition for students who attend a religious school.
Agudath Israel argues that the law, which was upheld by the federal district court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals, violates the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution, under several recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, because it prohibits students from accessing an otherwise available student aid program solely because of the religious nature of their school.
Agudath Israel joins the Christian Legal Society and a number of other religious organizations on the amicus curiae brief, which was drafted principally by law professors Douglas Laycock and Thomas Berg.
Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudath Israel’s Executive Vice President, stated that "Excluding religious school students from a state aid program that benefits other private school students is discriminatory and unconstitutional. We hope that the Supreme Court agrees to hear this case.”
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Click on the images above to watch the COVID relief webinar videos and PowerPoint slides |
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Agudath Israel of America's division of government affairs is engaged in advocacy and legislative outreach activities on the local, state, and federal levels. In so doing, Agudath Israel seeks to protect the rights and advance the interests of observant Jews and their growing network of educational and religious institutions; and to offer a uniquely Orthodox Jewish perspective on contemporary issues of public concern.
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