Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of downtown Manhattan is unhappy with a new Republican bill passed by the House of Representatives to provide federal funding to non-profits tied to religious organizations. Nadler argued that the bill is unconstitutional.

The bill passed the House on Wednesday by a 354-72 margin.

The Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act was introduced by Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, to ensure that the needs of places of worship or organizations with religious ties aren’t left out in the cold in rebuilding, The Raw Story reports.

The Jewish Press’ Lori Lowenthal Marcus reported on February 13 that after Hurricane Sandy ravaged parts of New York City and the surrounding communities last fall, many synagogues and other houses of worship became distribution centers for material goods and spiritual relief to those affected. Many of those buildings sustaining enormous damage from the storm. But because those types of non-profits are not specifically mentioned in the authorizing legislation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been unwilling to provide them with available relief funds.

The Orthodox Union’s Institute for Public Affairs and the National Council of Young Israel asked constituents to call their federal legislative representatives and tell them to vote in favor of legislation that will solve the problem: HR 592, the “Federal Disaster Assistance NonProfit Fairness Act of 2013.”

The bill makes “a church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other house of worship, and a private nonprofit facility operated by a religious organization, eligible for federal contributions for the repair, restoration and replacement of facilities damaged or destroyed by a major disaster.”

“Direct government funding of churches, synagogues and mosques has always been held to be unconstitutional,” Nadler said. “The purpose of the bill is laudable. Unfortunately, it has real constitutional problems.”

(See: Protecting Religious Freedom by Rep. Nadler, which appeared in The Jewish Press print edition)

Rep. Nadler accused the Republicans of hypocrisy.

“The Majority has made a big issue of respecting the Constitution,” he said in the Raw Story report. “We read the Constitution at the beginning of this Congress, and we are required to provide a statement of constitutional authority when we introduce a bill. But all that means very little if, when faced with a genuinely significant constitutional question, this House instead gives it the bum’s rush.”

Current law allows for houses of worship and religious organizations to file for federal loans to rebuild after disasters. The new bill, if passed by the Senate and signed into law, would allow for direct grants to these facilities.

Recently, I voted against legislation to allow the federal government to provide cash grants to rebuild houses of worship damaged by natural disasters. Many have asked me to explain why, given my long record of promoting religious liberty, I felt I had to vote “no.” Simply put, my objections went precisely to my determination to protect the rights of the Jewish community and other religious minorities.

The Constitution defends the rights of minority religious communities through the twin mandates of the First Amendment – the guarantee of the free exercise of religion and the prohibition of a government establishment of religion. While I was, of course, tempted to support grants that might provide some relief to a number of shuls, I decided that I simply was not willing to trade that potential short-term benefit for the likelihood of real long-term harm to the religious freedom protections upon which the Jewish community depends. And I certainly wasn’t willing to risk such harm without a single hearing to examine the serious constitutional questions the bill raised.

Some argue that denying these particular grants amounts to a form of religious discrimination. In fact, the Constitution treats religion differently precisely to protect religious minorities from government meddling. Government involvement with religion, while potentially conferring short-term benefits, has historically resulted in governmental interference and favoritism – and that has inevitably worked to disadvantage minority religious communities like ours. The people who wrote our Bill of Rights understood this because they had experienced it, and they, therefore, insisted on the separation of religion and government.

The Supreme Court has been very clear that the core principle of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause is that government may not directly fund religion or religious objects. So, while the courts have permitted government funding for religious institutions’ buildings used for hot lunch programs and for math books used in yeshivas, the courts have consistently rejected using taxpayer money to pay for the types of things this bill would authorize – spaces reserved for religious worship and religious articles such as Bibles, Torahs, and Korans. The record is clear: the Supreme Court has rejected every single case brought before it that attempted to provide the type of funding made available in this bill. So, while the bill may be a nice political gesture, it is highly unlikely that any shuls will ever see any actual funds from it.

And the Supreme Court has ruled this way for good reason. Experience shows that once government starts funding religion, it starts demanding a say in how its money is spent. That has been true of every governmental expenditure. There have even been frequent attempts – which we have worked to beat back – to tell religious institutions how they must spend their own money and to impose governmental oversight of these institutions’ finances. For minority religious groups, including the observant Jewish community, that is a dangerous vulnerability that history has shown can – and will be – exploited by unfriendly outsiders.

The frum community knows government meddling all too well. It is no secret that there are those who are hostile to core Jewish religious practices. There have long been efforts to outlaw shechitah, ban or severely restrict bris milah, and prevent observant Jews from settling in communities where they haven’t previously lived. We have largely prevailed in these fights because of the twin guarantees of the First Amendment, which work together to preserve minority religious rights.

I have fought to preserve those protections because I believe in them, and because I know how the observant Jewish community can be abused without them.

One of my first acts in Congress was to fight for passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act(RFRA), which provides stronger safeguards for religious practices when they conflict with federal governmental requirements – like the right to have kosher food in federal prisons, or to be protected from autopsies.

When the frum community fights attempts by local governments to use zoning laws to block shuls, mikvehs, and shtibelach, or by local residents to block an eruv, it relies on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which I helped write and got passed into law. The mere threat of a RLUIPA lawsuit often makes local governments back down.

Wednesday is the day you can help the synagogues and other houses of worship that helped you and others who suffered from Hurricane Sandy.

After Hurricane Sandy ravaged parts of New York City and the surrounding communities last fall, many synagogues and other houses of worship became distribution centers for material goods and spiritual relief to those affected.  Many of those buildings sustaining enormous damage from the storm.  But because those types of non-profits are not specifically mentioned in the authorizing legislation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been unwilling to provide them with available relief funds.

The Orthodox Union’s Institute for Public Affairs and the National Council of Young Israel are asking constituents to call their federal legislative representatives and tell them to vote in favor of legislation that will solve the problem: HR 592, the “Federal Disaster Assistance NonProfit Fairness Act of 2013.”

HR 592 is bi-partisan legislation introduced by Rep. Grace Meng, a New York Democrat (NY-06), and Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican (NJ- 04).  It will correct a defect in the current FEMA legislation by making clear that houses of worship are to be included amongst the nonprofit recipients of federal disaster relief aid.

The language that the bill will add to the current law that provides disaster relief and emergency funding defines houses of worship as

A church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other house of worship, and a private nonprofit facility operated by a religious organization, shall be eligible for contributions under paragraph (1)(B), without regard to the religious character of the facility or the primary religious use of the facility

The ever-present fear that any time government and religion come near each other the mighty “separation of Church and State” that Americans hold dear might be threatened is often enough to overcome common sense.  But the Constitution does not prohibit any relationship between the two, what it prohibits is for the government to promote and support one particular religion, according to the bill’s proponents.

Because HR 592 will provide funding for any house of worship that is affected by natural disasters, the fear of unconstitutionality recedes. In order to ensure there is no misunderstanding, the religious organizations hope that the legislation is passed.  If it is, millions of dollars of the relief fund will become available to the more than 2oo synagogues and other houses of worship that were damaged in the storm.

A vote on this bill will take place on Wednesday, February 13.  The OU and NCYI ask that all citizens call their legislators and ask them to vote yes on HR 592.  For those who don’t know how to contact their representatives, or even who is their representative, there are websites which provide the information.

In addition to the organizations that represent Orthodox Jews, there is a broad range of support for HR 592, including the Jewish Federations of North America, the New York Board of Rabbis, the Rabbinical Assembly, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Council of Churches of the City of New York, the American Jewish Committee, the Archdiocese of Trenton and Newark, the American Jewish Committee and Agudath Israel.

UPDATE Febreary 13:  Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 592, by a vote of 354 to 72.  The bill now goes to the Senate for approval.

I am writing this column as Hurricane Sandy is barreling through the greater New York area, after having sorted a load of clean laundry by the light of a group of yahrtzeit candles and having washed my supper dishes with the aid of a clip on barbeque lamp. My electricity went out almost four hours ago and thoughts of what I did right and what I did wrong in preparation for a one of a kind storm that ironically, bears my name are still fresh in my mind.

Hurricane Sandy marks the second time I have had my electricity knocked out by a late October storm, having lost power exactly one year ago for five and a half days during a freak snowstorm that turned my little corner of the world into something that looked more like a war zone than a picturesque hamlet in New York’s Hudson Valley. In light of last year’s storm, I thought I had all my pre-storm preparations under control, but I can tell you right now that I was wrong and I am hoping that as we celebrate the anniversary of last year’s power outage with yet another blackout, I will finally learn my lesson and be better prepared for future meteorological mishaps.

I should add that this is by no means a comprehensive guide to weathering a storm (no pun intended.) Those are available by the dozen on the Internet, although you obviously want to read those before the storm blows through and totally decimates your wireless connection. These are just random tips that I have had the unfortunate opportunity to collect during too many days without electricity.

Lesson Number 1: It doesn’t matter what the season, storms can be very serious business and should be respected, given their ability to wreak havoc with our lives, particularly in this day and age when our lives revolve around numerous items that require electricity. So be it a hurricane, a nor’easter, a blizzard or a tropical storm, don’t underestimate the weather’s ability to do major damage.

Lesson Number 2: Just because you think you are prepared for a storm doesn’t mean you are. I know I have enough flashlights for every member of my family and that I have a basket full of batteries sitting in my closet. Yet, somehow, almost all the flashlights have disappeared and I am almost completely out of AA and D batteries, the two sizes I need for the few flashlights that didn’t mysteriously vanish into thin air. Keep a flashlight next to your bed at night and if you are going out and will be coming back after dark, take a flashlight with you. Unless you have lived through a blackout, you can’t possibly imagine just how dark it can get when there is no power anywhere in your neighborhood.

Lesson Number 3: Flashlights are probably not the only light sources you own. Put your kids to work and have them dig out all the munchkin sized flashlights they have gotten as prizes and those mini booklights they use to read under their blankets at night when they are supposedly fast asleep. A clip-on barbeque lamp has turned out to be the best birthday gift my sister-in-law has ever gotten my husband as it travels from room to room, particularly useful when you don’t want to shower in the dark, and a set of battery operated tea lights we bought as a decorative accent for my daughter’s vort five years ago were the perfect light source to illuminate both the stairs and the upstairs hallway.

Lesson Number 4: You can never have too many yahrtzeit candles in your house. While it is important to only light them on a non-flammable surface, far away from any flammable objects, and it goes without saying that candles are a serious hazard when there are small children around, yahrtzeit candles are easily moved, and with their flames generally confined inside their containers, are far safer than regular candles. Be warned that glass ones have been known to crack, with devastating results, so be sure to buy the metal ones.

A Woodmere synagogue which lost four Torah scrolls in the chaos of Hurricane Sandy received a gift given in the spirit of Jewish brotherhood and Torah values from their kinsmen in Kansas City.

Congregation Ahavas Yisroel in Woodmere, which sustained heavy damage on October 30^th, welcomed the donated scroll from Congregation Kehilath Israel in Overland Park, near Kansas City, at a special ceremony.

Congregation Kehilath Israel said it had several scrolls, and decided to donate one to a synagogue hit hard by Sandy.  Moreover, because of an upcoming replacement of prayer books, the pre-loved copies were also brought along as a gift to the Woodmere community.

Ahavas Yisroel reportedly lost four Torah scrolls, including one donated by a Holocaust survivor who brought the scroll with him to America after the war.

In one of politics most recent ignominious flights from respectability, former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned his office in June, 2011, after it was exposed that he had a habit of “sexting” young women he met online with pictures of his barely clad private parts.

But if  you have consigned Weiner to the bin of history or source of tasteless jokes, you may have underestimated him.

Weiner, 47, who used to represent part of the Rockaways section of New York City which was slammed by Hurricane Sandy a few weeks ago, wrote an op-ed along with Congressman Meeks, who still represents the area.  The op-ed, published in the New York Daily News yesterday, Nov 28, was essentially a call for more funding, better transportation and improved protection from natural disasters – some might also describe it as a stump speech – for a community that was devastated by the storm.

This is not the first time Weiner has reared his head since his awkward exit from office less than 18 months ago.  In fact, Weiner reactivated his infamous twitter account during Hurricane Sandy, when he issued a call for help for the besieged community.

Other than these few forays, Weiner has largely been mentioned in the news only as the other half of a power couple – his wife, Huma Mahmood Abedin, works as Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Abedin, an American of Pakistani descent, was the target of criticism by a small group of conservative members of Congress who were alarmed by her alleged connection to Islamist extremists, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

Cong. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and four other Republicans, including Cong. Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Cong. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) sent a letter to the U.S. State Department Deputy Inspector General this past summer.  In the letter, the congressmembers asked that there be an investigation into whether there has been an Islamist infiltration of the U.S. government, based upon research presented in various publications.  Abedin was specifically mentioned in that letter because her mother, her late father and her brother all were allegedly members of, or had connections to, Muslim Brotherhood organizations.

Those allegations ended up doing more harm to Bachmann and her colleagues than to Abedin, as not only Hillary and Bill Clinton defended her, but prominent Republicans such as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Speaker of the House, Cong. John Boehner (R-OHIO), blasted Bachmann for conducting what they essentially called a witch hunt.

Anthony Weiner is Jewish and was widely considered one of Israel’s most ardent defenders in Congress.  Weiner and Abedin had a son, Jordan, over the summer.  The reception for Jordan’s bris was held in the multi-million dollar Park Avenue apartment the couple moved into after Weiner resigned from office.  The apartment is owned by Jack Rosen, head of the American Jewish Congress and a huge financial supporter of the Clintons.

If Weiner is considering another political run, he already has a potential campaign war chest of $ 3.9 million.

There has been talk that Weiner might be eying the New York City mayoral seat.  If so, a poll conducted this summer by NY1-Marist poll shows New Yorkers are not enthusiastic, with 58% responding that they did not want Weiner to run, and just 25% in favor.

That same poll asked New Yorkers for their take on several other potential NYC mayoral candidates, including another disgraced Jewish New York Democratic politician, Eliot Spitzer.  Spitzer fared only slightly better than Weiner, with 57% opposing his run and 30% in favor.  Spitzer, New York State’s former governor, was forced to resign his office in March, 2008, after his repeated liaisons with prostitutes was exposed.

(((CLICK BELOW TO HEAR AUDIO)))

Yishai shifts gears slightly and discusses the ever-continuing civil war in Syria and how the Syrian and Iranian regimes could be influencing Hamas to continue to attack Israel in order to allow atrocities in Syria to continue.  Yishai begins by presenting an audio piece from PBS, which discusses the terrible situation in Syria.  At 20:30, Yishai presents another piece from PBS about the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in the United States and how many Jews that were living on New York’s Rockaway Peninsula should consider moving to Israel rather than rebuilding.

Yishai Fleisher on Twitter: @YishaiFleisher
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A week after Hurricane Sandy, the Blums still had no electricity. They had run extension cords to a neighbor’s house to power some basic items, like the fridge and telephone, but the protracted living without power was taking its toll on the family.

“I’ve just about had it,” Mrs. Blum said to her husband. “We need to buy a generator! I saw them in the store two weeks ago for about $750.”

Mr. Blum drove to the store but couldn’t find any generators. He inquired with the manager, who said: “I’m sorry, but we sold out last week.”

Mr. Blum tried a second and third store, but everywhere he went, the answer was the same: “We sold out last week, and won’t get restocked for at least another week.”

“We can’t keep going on like this,” Mrs. Blum said to her husband. “We’ve got to do something!”

That afternoon, Mr. Blum saw in an advertisement that someone had procured a limited stock of generators and was selling them. He immediately drove over to the address listed.

As he entered, Mr. Blum saw a sign: “The generators are being sold for $1,500 each. We apologize for the high price. No returns.”

“What?!” exclaimed Mr. Blum to the seller. “That’s twice the cost of local stores. Why so much?”

“It is much more than the stores here, but I can’t sell for the regular price,” said the seller. “I had to buy these from a store very far away and transport them here. That added a lot to my cost and labor.”

“That may account for adding 50 percent to the price,” said Mr. Blum, “but it doesn’t justify charging double!”

“I’m not interested in bargaining,” said the seller. “This is the price that I’m charging. You want to buy for $1,500, fine; you don’t want to, don’t.”

“But overcharging like that is a violation of the prohibition against ona’ah (price cheating),” argued Mr. Blum. “It even jeopardizes the validity of the sale!”

“How am I cheating you?” asked the seller. “I’m not deceiving you about the cost; I acknowledge the price is high.”

Feeling he had no choice, Mr. Blum bought the generator. On Shabbos, he met Rabbi Dayan and related what happened. “Was the seller permitted to charge way more than the generators were worth?” asked Mr. Blum.

“In general, there is a prohibition of ona’ah to overcharge an unknowing customer,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “Depending on the amount overcharged, the customer may be entitled to a refund or to cancel the purchase.” (See C.M. 247:2-4)

“What if the seller stipulates ‘No return’?” asked Mr. Blum.

“Even if the seller stipulates that the customer should have no ona’ah claim, the customer does not relinquish his legal redress if the seller did not state he is overcharging,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “However, if the seller states he is overcharging and says: ‘This item that I’m selling for 200 is worth only 100; I am selling on condition that you have no ona’ah claim’ – then the customer has no redress.” (227:21)

“Does the seller have to specify the true cost?” asked Mr. Blum. “What if he just states that he is charging more than the item is worth, on condition that there is no ona’ah claim?”

“This seems dependent on whether a person can forgo an undefined sum,” said Rabbi Dayan. “According to the Rambam one cannot, so it is necessary to specify the amounts; according to the Tur one can, so it is not necessary to specify.” (See SM”A 227:39, 232:16; P.C., Ona’ah 10:35)

“But still, is stating that the price is high sufficient to permit the seller to overcharge?” asked Mr. Blum. “What about the prohibition of ‘lo tonu‘ – do not aggrieve?”

“If the seller specifies the amount he is overcharging there is no prohibition,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “It also seems that there is no need to formally stipulate, ‘on condition…’ since the customer is clearly agreeing to forgo the amount overcharged. Since the seller is transparent about overcharging, but only willing to sell for this price, and the customer decides that it’s worthwhile for him to buy nonetheless – the seller has not cheated him.” (See Nesivos 264:8; Pischei Choshen, Ona’ah 10:34)