I saw this coming

From Canadian Jewish News:

A new provincial law that bans religious family arbitration, and that critics say discriminates against Jews, will be challenged in the courts, promises a lawyer who argued forcefully against the legislation.

Last week’s passage of Bill 27, which prohibits all forms of binding arbitration in family matters not conducted according to Canadian law, is “a really sad day” for Jews who look to rabbinic courts, or beit dins, for authority, said John Syrtash.

Syrtash, who represented the Va’ad Harabonim of Toronto and several Orthodox groups in the lead-up to the law’s passage, says he will take steps to challenge the measure under the religious freedom provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Unless the law is changed, “we’re committed to challenging it in the courts at the first opportunity,” he told The CJN.

A key piece of background appears much later on in the article:

The law owes its origins to the heated debate in Ontario over a proposal from a Muslim group to set up tribunals that would employ sharia, or Islamic law, in binding family arbitration.

Besides the fact that the growing Muslim presence in most Western countries makes Jews less safe--many Muslims are very fine people, but let's face it, it does--Jews are also likely to experience problems from the inevitable anti-Muslim backlash. The present story is one example. The French ban on religious dress in schools is another.

Tags: Judaism, Islam, arbitration, Beis Din, Canada