The Michigan Department of Corrections says it is not required to provide kosher meat and dairy to Jewish inmates to supplement vegan meals, arguing they must buy those foods themselves from the prison commissary . (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File) CINCINNATI (CN) — Jewish inmates who wish to observe the Sabbath and certain holidays by eating kosher meals must do so at their own expense, the state of Michigan argued on Thursday in an attempt to overturn a federal judge’s decision to the contrary. Gerald Ackerman and Mark Shaykin, two Jewish inmates in the Michigan prison system, filed a class action shortly after the state implemented a new policy to provide a “universal, vegan meal” to any inmate approved for a religious meal. The 2013 suit alleged the Michigan Department of Corrections, or MDOC, was required to provide kosher meat and diary, that the vegan meal was cross-contaminated, and that it fell short of being considered kosher under the belief system espoused by Ackerman, Shaykin and other Jewish inmates. Following a bench trial, a federal judge ruled the vegan meal policy imposed a significant burden on Jewish inmates and therefore violated their rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized […]
