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Michigan prisons ordered to provide kosher meals to Jewish inmates

October 12, 2021 - from Courthouse News

"An appeals panel said the availability of kosher snacks and dairy products from a commissary is insufficient to satisfy federal standards for Jewish inmates that require specific meals on the Sabbath and other holidays.

"The Michigan Department of Corrections cannot use a one-size-fits-all vegan meal option for inmates with religious dietary needs and instead must provide Jewish inmates with kosher meals and specific dairy products, the Sixth Circuit ruled Tuesday.

"The decision upheld a lower court ruling in favor of the prisoners, who filed a class action in 2013 and prevailed on their claims that snacks provided by a prison commissary did not meet Jewish dietary requirements.

"The MDOC initially contested the sincerity of the beliefs held by lead plaintiffs Gerald Ackerman and Mark Shaykin, but after a bench trial a federal judge granted them relief and ordered the prison system to provide kosher meals and cheesecake on the holiday of Shavuot.

"The MDOC appealed to the Sixth Circuit and the case was argued before a three-judge panel in April.

"Tuesday's decision was unanimous, and held the MDOC must accommodate the sincerely held beliefs of Jewish inmates under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or RLUIPA."