Campus cop in Seattle claims anti-Semitism

A Jewish officer was among six current and former University of Washington police officers who sued the university’s police department for discrimination.

The lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 9 in U.S. District Court, alleges the department was rife with racial slurs, and management decisions were motivated by the ethnicity and gender of the employees. Officer Andrew Cohen claims a co-worker said Cohen could not be Jewish because he did not have numbers tattooed on his arm. In addition, Cohen said swastikas were placed around the office. — jta

California Orthodox group backs Prop. 8

Agudath Israel’s California chapter is backing Proposition 8, which would upend a recent decision by the state’s Supreme Court that allows gay marriages.

“The institution of marriage is central to the formation of a healthy society and the raising of children,” the Orthodox group said in a statement Oct. 7. “It is our deep conviction that discarding the historical definition of marriage will teach our children, in whom we seek to instill the moral sensibilities of our faith, the contemporary idea that any and all sexual unions are inherently acceptable.” — jta