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Messianic Jews in prison complain food's not kosher
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Published: July 26, 2008
Updated: 07/25/2008 07:55 pm
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The inmates say they're Jewish, but the prison considers them Protestant.
A long-running debate over defining the term "Messianic Jew" has spilled into a dispute over self-described Messianic Jews at an Ohio prison claiming discrimination in their attempts to keep kosher.
Messianic Jews say they can be Jewish while believing that Jesus is the Messiah foretold in Jewish scriptures -- an idea contrary to traditional Judaism.
At least four Messianic Jewish prisoners at Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield have filed grievances, alleging discrimination.
The Rev. Gary Sims, a religious-services administrator for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said he revoked kosher privileges for Messianic Jews in 2004 after consulting with Messianic Jewish rabbis who told him the meals weren't essential.
The meals also are prohibitively expensive, he said.
He said the prison system is re-evaluating its religious-accommodation policies.
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