Dismissing Religious Belief Concerns, Federal Court Rules in Favor of Texas School’s Expulsion of Andrea Hernandez Over Objections to RFID Tracking Badge

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Declaring that a Texas student’s refusal to wear a chipless RFID tracking badge is “not grounded in her religious beliefs” and is a “secular choice rather than a religious concern,” U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio has denied The Rutherford Institute’s request for a preliminary injunction preventing school officials from expelling Andrea Hernandez until the case is decided.

According to the judge’s order, Hernandez, a sophomore in a science and engineering magnet school housed in John Jay High School, has until the end of the current semester to provide written notice to Northside Independent School District officials as to whether she will accept the school’s accommodation of wearing the Smart ID badge without a chip, which Andrea, a Christian, objects to on the grounds that it represents the “mark of the Beast.” The badges, part of the school’s “Student Locator Project,” include tiny Radio Frequency Identification (“RFID”) chips that produce a radio signal, enabling school officials to track students’ location on school property.

In coming to Andrea’s defense, Rutherford attorneys have alleged that the school’s attempts to penalize, discriminate and retaliate against Andrea violate her rights under Texas’ Religious Freedom Act and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Institute attorneys intend to appeal the judge’s ruling.

Israeli Cabinet passes loyalty bill, now officially a discriminatory theocracy

Aron Heller
Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Israel's Cabinet approved on Sunday a bill that would require new citizens to pledge a loyalty oath to a "Jewish and democratic" state, language that triggered charges of racism from Arab lawmakers who see it as undermining the rights of the country's Arab minority.

Few non-Jews apply for Israeli citizenship so if the bill passes into law, the legislation would not directly affect Arab citizens of Israel, who make up 20 percent of the population.

Nevertheless, it has infuriated the Arab minority and stoked tensions with Palestinians at a time when fledgling peace talks are deadlocked over Israel's refusal to extend a moratorium on new building in West Bank Jewish settlements.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the bill by saying it reflected the essence of Israel at a time when he said many in the world are trying to blur the connection between the Jewish people and their homeland.

"The state of Israel is the national state of the Jewish people and is a democratic state in which all its citizens – Jews and non-Jews – enjoy full equal rights," he said. "Whoever wants to join us, has to recognize us."

Ahmad Tibi, an Arab lawmaker, called the move a provocation.

"Its purpose is to solidify the inferior status of Arabs by law," he said. "Netanyahu and his government are limiting the sphere of democracy in Israel and deepening the prejudice against its Arab minority."

Unlike their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's Arabs are citizens, with the right to vote, travel freely and to collect generous social benefits. But they have long suffered from second-class status, frequently suffering discrimination in housing and the job market.

While the new bill would not force them to profess their loyalty, it would require a foreign-born spouse to take the oath in order to receive citizenship.

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