Israel lifts Palestinian campaign ban in Jerusalem News
Israel lifts Palestinian campaign ban in Jerusalem

[JURIST] Israeli police said Monday that Palestinians who plan to run in the January 25 parliamentary elections [BBC backgrounder] will be permitted to campaign in Jerusalem, reversing a previous ban against Palestinian campaigning in the capital city. Senior Palestinian politician Hatem Abdel Khader said he viewed the lifted ban as an indication that Israel [JURIST news archive] would also permit residents from East Jerusalem to vote, a key demand by Palestinians. The Israeli government, however, has not yet commented on whether the eastern residents would be allowed to vote, and the decision will likely be the first political issue facing acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [official profile], who took over after the stroke of Ariel Sharon [BBC profile] last week. Israeli police officials and Palestinians are scheduled to meet later Monday to discuss the campaigning procedures. Last week, members of an independent Palestinian election commission resigned [JURIST report] in protest of the government's decision to allow security forces to cast votes in their barracks instead of in their districts. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.