We are saving Israel for last
Very specific reason not mentioned even one time.
Q
Ukrainian Lawmakers Vote To Ban Country's Largest Orthodox Church Body
An ultra-controversial ban on Ukraine's main religious body, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), has just passed a first-round vote of lawmakers, due to the church maintaining links with the Russian Orthodox Church centered in Moscow.
It comes after Ukrainian security services have conducted several raids against Orthodox monasteries and churches, including the famous Kiev Pechersk Lavra monastery.
"Draft law number 8371 on the prohibition of religious organizations associated with the Russian Federation was adopted in the first reading," lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak announced, after it passed 267 to 15.
The UOC blasted the move the get it legally banned as a severe violation of human rights and religious freedoms which violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
But another lawmaker, Inna Sovsun, was cited in AFP as calling it a "historic decision" - explaining the rationale of the majority of parliament as follows: "In order to defeat the aggressor, we need to think asymmetrically and leave no room for Russia to harm us."
Throughout the war, Zelensky officials have alleged - without evidence - that UOC priests and bishops sometimes are facilitators for Russian intelligence and harbor pro-Putin views.
The UOC responded, "Undoubtedly, the adoption of this draft law will indicate that human rights and freedoms, for which our state is also fighting, are losing their meaning." The UOC has confirmed it is taking steps to defend itself in courts.
n some recent instances, Orthodox clergy members have seen jail time or have been placed under house arrest, or else harassment by mobs of far-right Ukrainian nationalists, for merely calling for peace between the two countries.
If this new move to impose an outright ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church goes through, this means church seizures and the arrests of clergymen by the state will only increase, as Zelensky is now waging war not just on the invading Russians, but on Orthodox Christians within Ukraine itself.
Sauce: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukrainian-lawmakers-vote-ban-countrys-largest-orthodox-body