Millions of children in religious groups in England and Wales vulnerable to abuse – The Guardian

‘Children involved in religious organisations, including Sunday schools and madrasas, are vulnerable to sexual abuse in cultures where victim blaming, abuse of power and mistrust of external authorities are common, a report says. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) said there was “no doubt that the sexual abuse of children takes place in a broad range of religious settings”. It found evidence of “egregious failings” and highlighted the hypocrisy of religions that purport to teach right from wrong, yet fail to protect children.’

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The Guardian, 2nd September 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Radio host sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment for inciting racial hatred on his radio show – Crown Prosecution Service

‘A radio host has been sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment for using antisemitic language and racial slurs on his live radio show.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 6th August 2021

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Alta Fixsler: European court says UK hospital can withdraw life support – The Guardian

‘A Manchester hospital may withdraw life support from a seriously brain-damaged child after the European court of human rights rejected an appeal by the girl’s family.’

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The Guardian, 4th August 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

The UK Has Seen An Increase in Anti-Semitic Hate Crime – Each Other

Posted July 7th, 2021 in hate crime, Judaism, news, racism, religious discrimination, statistics by sally

‘In recent months, there has been a spike in the number of anti-Semitic hate crimes reported in the UK, including a pair of incidents where a Jewish man was targeted twice in the space of an hour while travelling in London.’

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Each Other, 6th July 2021

Source: eachother.org.uk

Withdrawal of life sustaining treatment v profound religious beliefs in sanctity of life – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Alta Fixsler was born with catastrophic brain injury. She now two years old, currently a patient at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Paediatric Intensive Care Unit on intensive life sustaining treatment. In this case the court was asked to decide whether it would be in Alta’s best interests for that life-sustaining treatment to be continued. The inevitable consequence of it being discontinued will be the death of Alta.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd June 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Alison Chabloz jailed for anti-Semitic radio show comments – BBC News

Posted April 8th, 2021 in internet, Judaism, news, racism, sentencing, suspended sentences by sally

‘A blogger has been jailed after making anti-Semitic comments on a radio show.’

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BBC News, 7th April 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

EasyJet pays compensation to woman asked to move by ultra-Orthodox Jewish men – The Guardian

Posted March 11th, 2021 in airlines, compensation, Judaism, news, sex discrimination by sally

‘EasyJet has paid compensation to a British-Israeli woman who was asked to change seats on a flight from Tel Aviv after ultra-Orthodox Jewish men objected to sitting next to her.’

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The Guardian, 10th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Disputed respite care for Ultra-Orthodox Jewish boys: A and B – Law & Religion UK

Posted March 8th, 2021 in care homes, children, disabled persons, equality, human rights, Judaism, news by tracey

‘In A and B (Minors: placement, faith) [2021] EWHC 455 (Admin), two brothers of a family of Charedi Jews in north Manchester, acting through their uncle and litigation friend M, challenged Manchester City Council’s decision to offer them respite placement in Birtenshaw, a secular residential home in Greater Manchester, instead of in Bayis Sheli, an exclusively Orthodox Jewish residential home in London. A was 15, turning 16 in June 2021; B was 11 years, turning 12 in September 2021 [11]: they both had medical and behavioural conditions that required a very high level of supervision [12, 13 & 14].’

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Law & Religion UK , 4th March 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Judge rules council breached ECHR rights of orthodox Jewish 15-year-old boy – but not his brother – over proposal for respite placement accommodation – Local Government Lawyer

‘A High Court judge has handed down a ruling in a disagreement over whether two boys should be given respite placement accommodation in a residential home in the Greater Manchester area or in an exclusively orthodox Jewish residential home in London.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd March 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Man who sent antisemitic tweets on holiday avoids UK prosecution – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2021 in bills, foreign jurisdictions, internet, Judaism, malicious communications, news, racism by sally

‘A trainee teacher has avoided a criminal record for sending antisemitic tweets to a Jewish journalist because he was on holiday abroad at the time, with the judge declaring that “the law prohibits me from punishing you”.’

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The Guardian, 23rd February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ex-Labour staffer goes to court to try to identify leaker of antisemitism report – The Guardian

‘A former senior Labour staffer has taken the party to court in an attempt to force it to disclose the identity of the leaker of a report on antisemitism in the party that contained hundreds of private WhatsApp messages.’

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The Guardian, 22nd February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Jeremy Corbyn to start legal action over suspension of Labour whip – The Guardian

‘Jeremy Corbyn is to start a formal legal claim against the Labour party for suspending the whip, in a case which allies of the former Labour leader say is intended to prove there was a deal with Keir Starmer’s office to readmit him to the party.’

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The Guardian, 26th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Corbyn supporter spared jail after telling Margaret Hodge to die in string of antisemitic abuse – The Independent

‘A supporter of Jeremy Corbyn who targeted Labour MPs with “vulgar, obscene and threatening” abuse has been spared jail.’

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The Independent, 25th November 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Positive action and proportionality: Supreme Court guidance in Agudas Israel Housing Association – Cloisters

‘In R (on the application of Z and another) (AP) (Appellants) v Hackney London Borough Council and another (Respondents) UKSC 2019/0162, the Supreme Court held that it was lawful for a housing association to provide social housing only to Orthodox Jews, in its first ever ruling on positive action. In this blog, Charlotte Goodman, an equality law barrister at Cloisters, considers the importance of the judgment.’

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Cloisters, 6th November 2020

Source: www.cloisters.com

Civil law, religion and marriage in the United Kingdom: a long read – Law & Religion UK

‘This began as a handout for the Cardiff LLM in Canon Law: it’s about the law on the formation of marriage – “weddings law” – rather than matrimonial law more generally.’

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Law & Religion UK, 11th November 2020

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Supreme Court rejects appeal over allocation of housing to members of religious group – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed an appeal over the lawfulness and proportionality of a housing charity’s policy of allocating social housing primarily to members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Hackney and in particular the Haredi community.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th October 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

New Judgment: R (on the application of Z and Anor) (AP) v Hackney London Borough Council and Anor [2020] UKSC 40 – UKSC Blog

‘The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed this appeal about the application of anti-discrimination law to charities, where they are established to provide benefits (in this case, social housing) for particular groups which are the subject of their charitable objectives. The relevant anti-discrimination laws are contained in the Equality Act 2010 and Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 (the “Race Directive”).’

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UKSC Blog, 16th October 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

UK supreme court backs housing charity’s ‘Jewish only’ rule – The Guardian

‘A woman seeking housing in east London who alleged racial discrimination when a housing charity reserved its properties for Orthodox Jewish people has lost her case at the supreme court.’

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The Guardian, 16th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

EP 103: Secular law intervenes in religious marital deadlock – Anthony Metzer – Law Pod UK

Posted February 26th, 2020 in divorce, families, Judaism, marriage, news by sally

‘New UK law on oppressive behaviour in a relationship has been used successfully to persuade a recalcitrant Jewish husband to grant his wife a divorce recognisable in the religious courts: Rosalind English discusses this landmark case with Anthony Metzer QC”.’

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Law Pod UK, 24th February 2020

Source: audioboom.com

A novel approach to Get refusal: the use of the offence of coercive control to obtain a religious divorce – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted February 12th, 2020 in coercive & controlling behaviour, divorce, human rights, Judaism, marriage, news, women by sally

‘For Jewish women, obtaining a religious divorce (Get) can be life-changing. Women denied a Get are considered ‘chained’ to their husband, preventing them from re-marrying within the faith (whilst not affecting the husband’s ability to re-marry). The power to grant the Get is usually considered the unilateral right of the husband. Because a purely religious marriage is not recognised in England as a civil marriage, women have little recourse to the courts. So, what happens when a husband refuses to grant a religious divorce to his wife? For these women, their human rights to manifest their religion and to enter into marriages are denied, such that they cannot live fully as both religious individuals and bearers of human rights. However, a novel approach to this problem, a private prosecution for coercive control, could offer Jewish women an alternative avenue to protect their human rights.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 4th February 2020

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk