Why American Law for American Courts is Needed

by Jerry Gordon (April 2013)

Support for ALAC in Florida

In one dramatic moment before a critical approval vote on April 8^th in the Florida Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs, Sen. Alan Hays, the sponsor of SB 58, application of foreign law in certain cases, read an Iconoclast article by Rabbi Jonathan Hausman, Esq. refuting the allegations of Jewish defense groups. Rabbi Hausman has the requisite qualifications to rebut the false and misleading information conveyed by the Jewish members of the anti-ALAC faction. He is the spiritual leader of Congregation Ahavath Torah in Stoughton, Massachusetts. He has both undergraduate and graduate education in Middle East studies earned at George Washington University and the American University in Cairo. Hausman holds a law degree from Emory University and is a member of the bars of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of Connecticut. He has rabbinic ordination and communal experience in the understanding the application of Jewish law as well as the sacrilized texts of Islam including Sharia. (See: Halacha, Sharia and the Religious Acceptance of Constitutional Governance). The Jewish doctrine as Hausman pointed out supports conformance to the ultimate supremacy of civil constitutional governance. Liberal news media in Florida like the Tampa Tribune and Miami Herald have been uniformly hostile to ALAC and, in addition, the SunSentinel and Palm Beach Post have rejected rebuttal op eds written by Rabbi Hausman, while permitting false and misleading information to be conveyed by members of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), ACLU and the international and family law sections of the Florida bar association. Sen. Hays’ presentation of Rabbi Hausman’s rebuttal came just before a split 5 to 4 vote that approved SB58 paving the way to the penultimate step to a possible floor vote before the current legislative session ends in Tallahassee in early May. Watch Sen. Hays’ presentation of Rabbi Hausman’s Iconoclast article on the Committee video record at the 64 minute mark.

Rabbi Hausman is not without allies. Christian Family Coalition held a Citizens lobby day in Tallahassee on April 4th bringing 130 members to a day of lobbying activity. The CFC has significant reach across Florida with more than 5,000 members representing over 1,000 churches and upwards of 500,000 “fair minded voters” in the State of Florida. CFC is led by its highly effective executive director, Anthony Verdugo. That CFC Citizen lobby day began with a Prayer Breakfast at which the House and Senate sponsors of ALAC in Florida (HB351/SB58), Rep. Larry Metz and Sen. Hays spoke. The CFC citizen lobbyists were well briefed on the merits of ALAC and took one page information sheets to leave behind with Senators and Representatives they approached. Their effectiveness in getting the message across in more than 41 individual encounters with members of the Florida legislature was reflected in obtaining 17 co-sponsors of ALAC. Similarly, members of the Vidal group of retired senior military officers in Florida have made appearances at House and Senate hearings on ALAC conveying their own experience with foreign laws they encountered in their distinguished military careers. 

The Cabal working against ALAC

Senate Bill 58, Application of Foreign Law in Certain Cases, suggest that ALAC threatens Jewish law on matters of divorce and would have a chilling effect on Israel US relations and other foreign trade matters.

Never Again! The New Antisemitism. While he chose for limited reasons to oppose the controversial Mosque in lower Manhattan, the ADL established the Interfaith Committee on Mosques (ICOM)  in 2010. Deborah Lauter, ADL’s civil rights director joined with the US Department of Justice in filing an amicus brief in opposition during the controversial Tennessee Chancery Court litigation involving expansion of the Islamic Center of Mufreesboro (ICM). Lauter, is one of those who maintained that the “political preferences” of an ICM board member, Mosaad Rawash who supported the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas were “irrelevant.”

Evidence of why ALAC is needed

Shariah Law and American Courts: An Assessment of State Appellate Court Cases, found 50 cases involving Sharia law in more than 23 states. At the trial court level 15 cases found Sharia to be applicable; at the Appellate Court Level, 12. Four of those cases were in Florida. Let’s look at some illustrative examples.

New Jersey does not have a version of ALAC.

Tennessee enacted ALAC in 2011.

Kansas enacted ALAC in 2012.

Florida: A graphic example is a case not included in the CSP study of Florida cases, that of Rifqa Bary.

Four years ago, a petit teenager seeking religious freedom huddled with her guardian ad litem in an Orlando Circuit Courtroom. Presiding Judge Daniel Dawson was in a quandary over whether he had jurisdiction despite concerns for her safety. Her name was Rifqa Bary. A native of Sri Lanka, she was seeking a basic freedom, the right to choose her faith by converting from Islam to Christianity. A right guaranteed under the State of Florida and US Constitutions, as well as Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Miss Bary had run away from her home in Columbus, Ohio seeking sanctuary in Florida. Her parents had demanded access to her and that she return to their belief community for counseling. This despite the fact that they and their daughter were illegal immigrants in this country. Miss Bary’s life was threatened in her country of origin because of her change in faith. She had been physically abused in her home. She was being treated for uterine cancer. Despite all of these daunting vicissitudes Miss Bary would complete her high school studies near the top of her class. Yet, the Florida Circuit Court did not believe it had the authority to rule in the matter except to remand Ms. Bary to the custody of the Juvenile Court in Franklin County, Ohio.  

Noted author, psychoanalyst and feminist Phyllis Chesler wrote this about the Franklin County Ohio Juvenile Court decision:

Jewish Domestic Law is Not Threatened by American Law for American Courts.

Rabbi Jonathan Hausman noted why SB58 is the answer:

Rifqa Bary was guaranteed those rights in an Ohio Courtroom, not in Florida where her matter originated. Her case amply demonstrates why SB58 should be enacted into Florida Law.

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