Thursday, April 06, 2000
Jewish lawmaker stands ground
Ten Commandments fever overtakes Ky.
BY KAREN SAMPLES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Kathy Stein couldn't believe it. There she was, on the floor of the Kentucky House, being asked whether Jesus Christ was her savior.
She knew the questioner didn't mean any harm. Rep. Billy Dale Polston, R-Tompkinsville, was genuinely confused about Judaism.
Ms. Stein answered calmly. Jews believe Jesus was a wonderful rabbi and teacher, she said, but not the Messiah.
Mr. Polston continued: “Do you not believe that Jesus Christ was raised for our sins?”
“No, I do not,” replied Kentucky's only Jewish legislator.
“I was very, very shocked,” she recalled. “If I had not been able to draw on my experience as a criminal trial lawyer, I would have been speechless.”
It was just that kind of session.
Over the last three months, legislators discussed no less than five bills related to the Ten Commandments and various other measures to shore up Christianity in the state.
At the same time, they failed to pass a budget, distribute tobacco money or fix problems with workerscompensation. Those items may be taken up on Monday and Tuesday, the last two days of the session.
For Ms. Stein, these three months have been surreal. They have reminded her how important it is to speak up — and how difficult this can be for Jews in Kentucky.
Ms. Stein and her husband have three children attending public schools in Lexington.
Every Friday, the Stein family lights candles to welcome the Jewish Sabbath. At dinner on these nights, they sometimes recite the Ten Commandments.
Ms. Stein's children are thick-skinned and confident in their religion. She worries about those who are not.
In 1997, I received a call from a Jewish mother in Fort Thomas. She expressed dismay over “weekday religious instruction,” in which some Northern Kentucky children leave their public schools for an hour of Bible study at nearby churches.
This subtle promotion of Christianity might confuse Jewish children, she said. But she didn't want to be identified. Surrounded by Christians, she feared backlash.
“That's a natural reaction,” says Ms. Stein. “When you've got children in the school system and you can't be with them all the time, you don't want to draw any attention that might cause them problems.”
Of course, it's not fair to expect polite silence from Christians. They have the right to celebrate their faith, and minorities must accept a certain isolation.
What's wrong is to emphasize that isolation with government edicts.
During one week in February, Christianity was so omnipresent in Frankfort that Ms. Stein told her colleagues she was fed up. That was the week of a rally between the Capitol building and the annex. By coincidence, Ms. Stein happened to be walking past as speakers called for a “religious war to reclaim Kentucky as the Christian state it is,” she recalls.
Then there was the prayer that opened one House session: “We must be saved in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Ms. Stein could not say “amen.” This doesn't bother her when she is a guest in a Christian church. But legislators are supposed to represent all Kentuckians — mostly Christians, but also Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Druids and who knows what else.
After speaking out on the House floor, Ms. Stein received several dozen hate letters. One anonymous coward described Judaism as “nothing but a business creed” and made a reference to Nazi Germany. Another left pornographic material in front of Ms. Stein's house.
Here's the good news: She also received several hundred letters of support. Many were from Christians who said that they didn't like the evangelical undercurrent in the General Assembly, Ms. Stein says.
She felt pretty good by the end of the session. She educated a few people and provided a voice for a few others. She discovered a community of open-minded Christians. And she's unopposed for re-election.
“I'll be back,” she says.
Karen Samples is Kentucky columnist for the Enquirer. Her column appears Thursdays and Sundays. She can be reached at 578-5584, or by e-mail at ksamples@enquirer.com.
SAMPLES ARCHIVE
