On April 8, many groups including the Florida Bar Family Law Section, Florida Bar International Law Section, the Anti-Defamation League, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, and many others testified against the anti-Muslim SB 58 during the meeting of Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Senate Committee. However, the committee again voted, 5-4 to pass the bill to the Senate for a vote by the full body.
Christopher Rumbold, representing the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, called it a "phantom menace." Ronald Bilbao of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida said the bill is "a solution in search of a problem."
Critics, including the Florida Bar, the Anti-Defamation League, the ACLU of Florida and the National Council of Jewish Women, contend the bill would have a negative impact on Jewish divorces, called "gets," and could trouble the state's relationship with Israel. Under Jewish law, only a man can grant a divorce to a woman.
That violates Florida and federal constitutional protections, David Barkey, religious freedom counsel for the Florida Anti-Defamation League told the committee. And it would bar courts from recognizing any divorce settlements granted under Israeli or Jewish law, he said.
"This legislation " could undermine Florida's strong reputation and track record as a center for trade with Israel and other nations" and "serve as an incentive for them to take their business elsewhere," Barkey said.
And the bill could have a chilling effect on Israeli nationals and dual citizens already living in Florida, said NCJW Vice President of Advocacy Linda Geller Schwartz, who lives in Boca Raton. "The message being given to the Jewish population and other minorities is a very unwelcoming one," she added.
Banishing Islam from US
The Florida and Oklahoma bills are based on the model piece of legislation written by anti- Muslim extremist David Yerushalmi, a man who is on the Southern Poverty Law center's list of the "Anti-Muslim Inner Circle," and who wants to banish Islam from US by making adherence to Islam punishable by a 20 year jail sentence.
These cleverly-worded bills focus on family law, but are targeted specifically against Muslims and impact the religious family laws of everyone--Muslims, Christians and Jews. If passed, these anti-Sharia laws would restrict and/or deny the use of religious law for matters involving marriage, divorce, and child custody.
Between 2010 and 2012, lawmakers in 32 states introduced similar bills, and six states -- Oklahoma, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, South Dakota and Tennessee -- enacted such bills into law.
The ACLU believes that anti-Muslim bigotry has recently crept into state legislatures around the country. This is a disturbing trend, the ACLU said adding:
"Several states have passed or attempted to pass laws designed to prevent courts from applying Islamic or "Sharia" law, as well as "foreign" or "international law." Some, such as a constitutional amendment passed in Oklahoma, mention Sharia specifically, in addition to international law. (Okalhoma has now dropped the word Sharia from its new bill.) Others only mention foreign or international law. Whatever the specific terminology, all of these attempts raise serious red flags.
"Efforts to single out Muslims and to advance the ugly idea that anything Islamic is un-American are unjust and discriminatory and should be rejected. Laws that single out Sharia violate the First Amendment by treating one belief system as suspect. Attempts to prevent courts from considering international or foreign law suffer from constitutional flaws and undermine the ability of courts to interpret laws and treaties regarding global business, international human rights and family law issues such as international marriages and adoptions.
"Some politicians have taken up the unfounded idea that American Muslims somehow wish to impose Islamic law on U.S. courts as a campaign issue. Other politicians seek to score political points by demonizing anything foreign or international."
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