Aleph's Legal Advocacy for Religious Freedom

Over the years, Aleph has acted as a consultant and resource for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and many state departments of corrections to promote ethical education and safeguard religious freedoms for Jews in institutional environments. For example: With the assistance of Congressmen Canady and Nadler, we successfully petitioned the Department of Justice to grant a special exemption to the Federal Bureau of Prisons that would allow chaplains to accept donations of religious items for inmate use.

Recent directives from the Attorney General's office had prohibited DOJ employees from soliciting or accepting any "gifts"; certain parties at the Bureau of Prisons had interpreted that directive as forbidding donations of religious materials (such as prayer books) to Jewish inmates just before the High Holidays. Aleph was instrumental in having federal legislation passed to protect the religious rights of Jews in institutional environments. After passing both Houses of Congress unanimously, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 was signed into law by President Clinton on September 22, 2000. Aleph's testimony before Congress was expressly noted by Senator Orrin Hatch when this legislation was presented to the President for his signature. Previously, Aleph's in-depth report, How the Grinch Stole Chanukah , was circulated to members of Congress and explained the need for legislation to protect Jewish inmates from discriminatory practices by state prison officials. A copy of the Grinch report was also published in the Cardozo Law Review as part of a special symposium on religious freedom issues. See How the Grinch Stole Chanukah , 21 Cardozo L. Rev. 707 (1999).Previously, Aleph submitted a brief amicus curiae in support of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the U.S. Supreme Court case of City of Boerne, Texas v. Flores .

As a member of the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion, Aleph has always been actively involved in drafting legislation and promoting individual state efforts to promote religious liberty.

Aleph acted as counsel on the winning brief before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Ashelman v. Wawrzaszek , on behalf of a Jewish inmate's 16-year effort to obtain kosher food in Arizona.The court ruled that Jewish inmates were entitled to a kosher menu, notwithstanding the Supreme Court's overruling of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.Already, numerous other courts have cited the Ashelman decision as they uphold Jews' rights to obtain kosher food.In recent years, Aleph has filed briefs as amicus curiae in support of Jewish needs with numerous other United States Courts of Appeals.

Aleph regularly advocates for, and submits affidavits on behalf of, Jewish inmates' rights to pray, observe Sabbath and holidays, and to obtain Jewish books, yarmulkes, ritual materials and kosher food. For example, Aleph made national headlines some time ago before Chanukah when it successfully led an intensive campaign to reverse a proposed ban by the Michigan Department of Corrections on Chanukah candles at all Michigan prisons. The story was covered by The New York Times, a host of local and regional newspapers, many Jewish weeklies and periodicals, including the Jewish Press, TV stations and CBS Radio. National coverage was provided by the Associated Press.

In order to combat the typical institutional excuse that they didn't "know" about Jewish needs, our Aleph Advisory newsletter is designed to put wardens and chaplains officially on notice of religious requirements for each Jewish holiday -- and provide them with the opportunity to obtain whatever ritual items may be required. Over 3,500 copies are now distributed by mail and fax around the country. In a similar vein, we have published our Institutional Handbook of Jewish Practice and Procedure , a volume designed to advise wardens, chaplains and institutional staff as to all of the minimum daily and holiday requirements for Jewish inmates, and which has become a popular resource for institutional staff around the country.