Interesting story of jail censorship in Newsweek.
Officials at the Otisville prison recently removed hundreds of books from the chapel library there—including, Milstein charges in court documents, works by the great 12th-century rabbi and physician Maimonides as well as the Zohar, the ancient text upon which the mystical practice of Kabbalah is based. The books were removed, Bureau of Prisons officials explain, to comply with new rules set earlier this year. To reduce the risk that prisoners will find hateful or radicalizing (read: terrorist) materials in chapel libraries, the BOP has developed lists of 150 approved books per religion for 20 religions, including Bahai, Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses. In all of the bureau’s 114 prisons, chaplains are in the midst of dramatic reorganizations, removing from shelves any book not on one of the BOP’s lists.
A jewish inmate along with a christian and muslin inamtes are suing.
JSinger
8/16/2007
I’d be curious to see that list. Any idea where it could be found?
I’m not losing sleep over Milstein (if you can’t survive without a Nodeh B’Yehudah then keep yourself out of prison) but arguing about a list of the top 150 sefarim could keep the entire Jewish world occupied for years.
Rabbi Yonah
8/16/2007
I hope they keep Burg and the Kabob center off the list. That stuff is dangerous
jc.
8/18/2007
This makes sense because, really, the search for understanding and truth can easily be pursued and attained without too much diversity in materiel and information and within sensible parameters of normality agreed on by sensible normal authorities who, lets face it, do know best.
I am surprised that they allow as many as 20 approved religions, isn´t that a little confusing?
Would they classify Dawkins as religion or science?
(In one of Stockholms major bookstores I found him* in the science section, not religion or philosophy or even humanities
Silly me, why do I even imagine that he´d be allowed, or am i wrong?
*I mean his book “The God Delusion”.
Irrelevant Elephant
8/18/2007
have i played too much World of Warcraft, since to me BOP automatically means “bind on pickup” in reference to some new equipable items. dude im a nerd
Maestri
8/18/2008
BS”D
How did the the suit end?
Did the Jewish inmate get the Rambam books back?