[wvns] Feds Clear Books from Prison Libraries
Fearing Muslim `radicalization' in prisons,
feds limit number of religious books.
Stewart Ain - Staff Writer
07/20/2007
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=14320
The war on terror has spread to America's federal prisons — and Jewish
inmates appear to have become unintended victims.
Fearful that some religious books — particularly those of Muslims —
might promote "violence and radicalization," the federal Bureau of
Prisons has removed all but 150 books per religion from its prison
chapels. As a result, Jewish inmates who have long had access to
hundreds of Jewish books, complain that now even the Torah is denied
to them.
Victoria, an inmate in the federal prison in Tallahassee, Fla., said
the removal of the Jewish books was "like a knife into our hearts." In
a letter published last week by the Lubavitch Youth Organization in
Florida, she wrote that she and other Jewish inmates asked the
non-Jewish chaplain "why the most important books, such as a Torah and
Tanach [the Bible] and others were removed."
She said he "denied that the Torah or Tanach were in the inventory in
the first place, when we — all the Jewish sisters — know that they
were there."
A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons, Michael Truman, insisted in an
e-mail that "both the Torah and the Bible are on the approved lists."
But Solomon Klein, a lawyer for a Jewish inmate suing the Bureau of
Prisons over this issue, said that just because a book appears on the
approved list, "does not mean that these books are guaranteed to
appear in every library. It simply means that these are the only books
that will not be removed. So as a practical matter, a library that had
100 books to start with might end up with 10 books that are on the
`book list.'"
Although it is unclear if the Florida prison ever had the Bible or if
it was removed in error, the federal suit claims that "commentary on
the Bible" has been removed from chapel bookshelves.
There are about 5,000 Jewish inmates in federal prisons around the
country, according to the ALEPH Institute, which runs prison programs
and arranges rabbinic visitation for Jewish inmates.
The new rule follows release of a report last September by George
Washington University and the University of Virginia that warned that
American prisons had become a major breeding ground for Islamic
terrorists.
Islamic extremists there are free to brainwash vulnerable inmates with
distorted views of the Koran and other readings that urge
radicalization and violence, it said.
"The U.S., with its large prison population, is at risk of facing the
sort of homegrown terrorism currently plaguing other countries," the
study concluded.
It added that among those who became radicalized while in prison was
Richard Reid, the British "shoe bomber."
Three inmates at the federal prison in upstate Otisville — a Jew, a
Christian and a Muslim — have filed suit against the federal Bureau of
Prisons seeking to reverse the policy after it was implemented there
late last month.
At a hearing May 31, the Jewish prisoner, Moshe Milstein, told Judge
Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan Federal Court that after learning of
the new policy in March they requested but were denied permission to
see a list of the approved books. He said about 600 Jewish books were
removed from the shelves.
"There is no history of incitefulness [sic] or subversion in these
books," he said. "They have been here 10 years."
Among the books removed, he said, are those written by Moses
Maimonides, the 12th century Jewish scholar; the Zohar, the classic
book of Jewish mysticism; and Rabbi Harold Kushner's "Why Bad Things
Happen to Good People."
"It's absurd that it shouldn't be in a religious library," Milstein
told the court about Rabbi Kushner's book.
He added that the books removed from the shelves are now in the
warehouse at the prison. And Milstein said that "if it was not for the
intervention of a staff worker, the books would be discarded."
But Truman, the Bureau of Prisons spokesman, said that as of June 1,
"any books not listed on the standardized list were placed in storage
until they can be reviewed for content, currency and condition by SMEs
[subject matter experts]."
"As books are reviewed and certified as free of discrimination,
violence and radicalization, the lists for each religion will be
updated to incorporate additional books into the standard libraries,"
he said. "Media that are determined to contain discriminatory, violent
or radical material will be discarded."
He denied assertions that there is a cap of 150 books, saying that
more books will be added as they are reviewed and approved.
At the end of the hearing, Swain encouraged Milstein to pursue
administrative remedies at Otisville and asked both sides to address
in writing the legal issues raised. She has yet to render a decision.
Truman noted that religious subject matter experts for each faith
reviewed all chapel library holdings — print, audio and video media —
for "content, currency and condition" and certified 150 books and 150
audio and video holdings for each religion.
Klein, a lawyer for Milstein, insisted in an e-mail interview that his
position is that "prisoners have the constitutional right to practice
and learn about their religion. The bureau's wholesale removal of
books — including prayer books — violates these rights."
"The books should be returned immediately," he said, adding that he
would encourage the bureau to "work with religious organizations to
establish a reasonable policy that provides access to religious
materials while protecting inmates from extremism. ... The bureau has
been aware of the need to inventory these books for years; there is no
reason why this cannot be done while the books are in the library."
Five Orthodox Jewish groups and the American Jewish Committee have all
challenged the bureau's handling of this issue. In a letter this week
to Harley Lappin, the bureau's director, the AJC's general counsel,
Jeffrey Sinensky claimed that to "arbitrarily cap the number of books
available to inmates unjustifiably punishes those seeking both
religious inspiration and texts that are essential for the proper
observance of their faith."
"We are eager to work with you and other organizations to devise more
prudent procedures that would keep hate and violence out of prisons
but continue to allow prisoners access to all appropriate religious
works," he wrote.
Chanoch Lubling, a lawyer for the five Orthodox groups, said that
although the policy was slated to become effective June 1, the bureau
has delayed implementation until Oct. 1 in order to "reassess the policy."
In their own letter to Lappin, the five Orthodox groups said the
bureau had overreacted. They said they had "no quarrel" with the
bureau's goal in reviewing books, but said the way it handled it is
"excessive, going far beyond what is necessary to achieve these
goals." They said the bureau should have simply reviewed the books on
chapel library shelves and removed those with objectionable content,
rather than ban any book not on its approved list.
"Frankly, we are at a loss to understand why any religious book would
be banned by an arbitrary cap if it is otherwise acceptable and
contributes to the spiritual development of inmates seeking religious
reading materials in a prison chapel library," they wrote.
The five organizations signing the letter to Lappin were Agudath
Israel of America, the National Council of Young Israel, the Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Aleph Institute and the
Rabbinical Council of America.
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