When JDL Chairman Irv Rubin attended a city council meeting in Burbank, California, he was not prepared to hear a Christian prayer that invoked the name of Jesus. He felt the practice of issuing a sectarian prayer in the name of a specific deity was exclusionary to individuals of other faiths. Beyond that, he believed that Burbank was violating the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

After warning the municipality that it was breaking the law, Rubin took Burbank to court. The city naively believed it would win the legal battle, and it was rebuked by a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling that firmly enforced the First Amendment through iron-clad case law. Incredibly, the Burbank city council has decided to appeal the case; Rubin is confident the city will be defeated again.

The JDL chairman makes it clear that his attack on governmental sectarian prayers is not an attack on Christianity. He believes spirituality belongs in the home or place of worship --- not in government life. In fact, Irv is not only against Christian prayers in government, he is against the government invoking prayers belonging to any specific religion -- including Judaism. On the other hand, he finds nothing wrong with government bodies participating in nonsectarian prayers to G-d.

Not everyone agrees with Irv Rubin and the JDL on this issue. Some differ with our interpretation of the Constitution, while others think the issue isn't very important. We're interested in your opinion.

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