Are there stranger bedfellows than the American Jewish Committee and a Wiccan clergyman? The AJC, as well as the Anti-Defamation League, just signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief in a federal appeals case supporting a Wiccan clergyman’s right to sue California for not hiring prison chaplains of his faith. As with so many of these things, the literal question up for appeal is a rather narrow one concerning the plaintiff’s standing to challenge California’s policy. But the ADL’s statement, which calls California’s practice “discriminatory” and “exclusionary,” makes the group’s broader stand apparent: tax money, it believes, should not be used to favor one religious group over another. For the record, though, California does pay prison rabbis.
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.