Egyptian Court Bans Pilgrimages To Rabbi's Grave

 Al-Monitor reports that on Sept. 26, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court upheld a lower court ruling banning the annual celebration in Damatyuh village near the city of Damanhur in Beheira governorate of the birth of Rabbi Yaqoub bin Masoud, known as Abu Hasira. The paper reports:

The court, which is the highest administrative court for administrative appeals in Egypt, ordered removing the shrine in which ... Abu Hasira, is buried, from the list of Islamic and Coptic antiquities in Egypt. In addition, it rejected a request to transfer his remains to Israel, which was submitted by Tel Aviv through UNESCO in 2012.

The court based its refusal to transfer the rabbi's remains because Islam respects the divine religions and rejects the exhumation of graves, and because Palestine is an occupied land and legitimizing the Jewishness of the state must be avoided by keeping this shrine on Arab land.

The appeal was filed by the Egyptian government; the previous ruling thus became final and irrevocable.

Before 2011, hundreds of Jews from Morocco, France and Israel made an annual pilgrimage to the rabbi's grave.

President Issues Rosh Hashanah Message

 Today the White House released a Presidential Message on Rosh Hashanah, 2020, which begins this evening. It reads in part:

The First Lady and I wish our Jewish brothers and sisters Shana Tova and hope the millions observing this sacred day in America and around the world have a blessed start to the High Holy Days....

This year’s High Holy Days come with a sense of optimism for the people of Israel, as my Administration continues to make great strides in securing a more stable, prosperous, and peaceful Middle East region...

Consent Decree Allows Construction of Chabad House

 A consent decree was entered this week in United States v. Borough of  Woodcliff Lake, (D NJ, Sept. 15, 2020), ordering the Borough to grant zoning variances that will permit construction of a Chabad synagogue. The decree, citing RLUIPA, orders zoning approvals in accordance with a site plan approved in the settlement of a parallel private action. The consent decree also contains provisions to assure future compliance with RLUIPA.  NJ.com reports on the consent decree. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Report Contends UAE-Bahrain-Israel Deal Could Change Status Quo On Temple Mount

Relying on a Report from the NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, Al Jazeeera says that a clause in the UAE-Bahrain normalization agreements with Israel could lead to a change in status of the Temple Mount/ Al-Aqsa compound. Under the current status quo arrangements, only Muslims can pray on the Temple Mount/ Al-Aqsa compound.  President Trump's Middle East Peace Plan called for the Temple Mount to be open to worshipers of all faiths. However a later clarification by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman  said: "The status quo, in the manner that it is observed today, will continue absent an agreement to the contrary." Recent statements by the UAE and Bahrain are now being seen as signaling a breach of the status quo arrangement.

Donald Trump's Peace Plan carefully referred to the Temple Mount as "Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif."  The August 13 Joint Statement by the UAE, Israel and the United States as well as the September 11 Joint Statement by Bahrain, Israel and the U.S. include the following statement which refers only to Al Aqsa Mosque:

As set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem’s other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths.

According to the Terrestrial Jerusalem Report:

Israel defines Al Aqsa as the structure of the mosque, as does the wording of the Statement, whereas Muslims define Al Aqsa as the entire esplanade of Haram al Sharif/the Temple Mount. Consequently, according to Israel (and apparently to the United States), anything on the Mount that is not the structure of the mosque is defined as "one of Jerusalem's other holy sites", and open to prayer by all – including Jews. Accordingly, Jews may now be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount, just not in the mosque....

Both the Israeli Prime Minister and the US negotiating team fully understand the significance of every word and every nuance relating to Jerusalem in general, and to the Temple Mount/Haram Al Sharif in particular. Consequently, this choice of terminology is neither random nor a misstep, and cannot seen as anything but an intentional, albeit surreptitious attempt to leave the door wide open to Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, thereby radically changing the status quo.

Kamala Harris Has Varied Religious Background

 Religion News Service reports on the broad exposure to various religious faiths experienced by Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee for vice-president. Her mother was Hindu, but she grew up attending predominately Black churches. She now considers herself a Black Baptist. Her husband Douglas Emhoff is Jewish.

Poway Rabbi Pleads Guilty To Fraud Charges

Under a Plea Agreement (full text) in United States v. Goldstein, (SD CA, 7/14/2020), a California rabbi plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit wire fraud. As set out in the Information (full text) filed at the same time as the plea agreement, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein was charged with a scheme to help at least five other taxpayers evade income taxes and fraudulently received other benefits.  Goldstein would generate receipts for charitable donations, but funnel 90% of the contributions back to donors. Taxpayers would also use the receipts to generate matching contributions from their employers.  He would also assist other in obtaining fraudulent grants or loans, and falsely generate community service records for individuals sentenced to community service.

Rabbi Goldstein obtained public notice in 2019 when an attack on his synagogue in Poway resulted in one death and injuries to others including Goldstein.  Courthouse News Service reports on the case:

U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said during a press conference Tuesday Goldstein had personally made off with $620,000 in kickback payments for helping five Chabad of Poway donors evade paying personal income taxes....

“There is no doubt Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein was the victim of a horrific hate crime which terrorized him and the Chabad community. That event was a significant mitigating factor in the final plea agreement,” Brewer said....

Brewer said when Goldstein is sentenced later this year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will recommend probation. He cited Goldstein’s past and ongoing cooperation, community contributions and “exemplary” example as “a significant advocate for peace and the elimination of violence and religious hatred” following the 2019 shooting.

Goldstein will pay $2.5 million in restitution as part of the plea agreement, Brewer said.

Suit Challenges COVID-19 Closure of Jewish Overnight Camps

Suit was filed yesterday in a New York federal district court challenging New York COVID-19 orders that require Jewish overnight camps to remain closed this summer. The complaint (full text) in Association of Jewish Camp Operators v. Cuomo, (ND NY, filed 6/18/2020), alleges in part:

5. On June 12, 2020, Defendant announced that overnight camps would be closed for the summer of 2020 under his COVID-19 orders, without making any exceptions for Jewish overnight camps, notwithstanding that these overnight camps involve core religious exercise.

6. In contrast, Defendant has made a broad First Amendment exception from his COVID-19 orders for First Amendment activities that he favors. In particular, Defendant has created a de facto exemption from his COVID-19 orders for mass demonstrations ... even though these mass protests pose greater risks of the transmission of COVID-19 than do Jewish overnight camps.

7. Defendant also has allowed a wide array of similar, secular activities to remain open....

11. Defendant’s statewide closure of all Jewish overnight camps this summer violates Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights of the free exercise of religion and the fundamental rights of parents to control the religious education and upbringing of their children, guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and Article III, § 3 of the New York Constitution. 

[Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Suit Challenges NY Worship Restrictions vs. Permitted Floyd Protests

Suit was filed last week in a New York federal district court by two Catholic priests and three Orthodox Jews challenging limits on worship services imposed by  New York state and city COVID-19 orders. The complaint (full text) in Soos v. Cuomo, (ND NY, filed 6/10/2020), alleges in part:

[W]hile defendants jointly impose this arbitrary, pseudo-scientific regime of strict gathering limits for some groups and activities but not others, they are permitting closely packed gatherings of thousands to protest the wrongful death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, which have been taking place in New York City and every other major city in New York State day-after-day since Floyd’s death on May 25.

Plaintiffs' Memorandum In Support of an Application for a Preliminary Injunction (full text) contends in part:

Here, the Orders only purport to mandate a general limit on non-essential gatherings across the state. But aside from the voluminous formal exemptions that undermine the Orders’ general applicability ..., Defendants recently granted an individualized exemption to mass gatherings protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.... These protests have involved hundreds or thousands of protestors all across the state, often packed together shoulder-to-shoulder in express derogation of the Orders’ limits on gathering sizes and social distancing.... And yet, while Defendants expressly approve of these gatherings, they have insisted that limits on religious gatherings remain in place.... This is exactly the type of disparate individualized assessment that must pass strict scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause.

Thomas More Society issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

UPDATE: Here is defendants' Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Application for Injunctive Relief.

DOJ Sues New Jersey Town Over Anti-Jewish Zoning Ordinances

Last week the Department of Justice filed suit against the Township of Jackson, New Jersey alleging that it has violated RLUIPA by using its zoning ordinances to target the Orthodox Jewish community.  The Township banned schools (including religious schools) in certain zoning districts and banned dormitories throughout the township so that boarding schools cannot operate.  The complaint (full text) in United States v. Township of Jackson, (D NJ, filed 5/20/2020), alleges in part:

The 2017 Ordinances were enacted in response to the growth of the Orthodox community and the complaints Township officials received from residents about the Orthodox community....

Hostility toward the Orthodox community by Township officials and residents in Jackson has continued since the enactments of Ordinances 03-17 and 04-17 to the present time.

The Department of Justice issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Tel Aviv Mayor Sues New Transportation Minister For Libel Over Claims About Tefillin Stands

Yeshiva World reported yesterday on a libel lawsuit filed in Israel by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai against newly-appointed Transportation Minister Miri Regev.  The suit, filed in Tel Aviv- Jaffa Magistrate's Court, seeks damages equivalent to $142,000 (US). According to the report:

The lawsuit refers to public statements Regev made at a February campaign event, at which she accused Huldai of coming out against Judaism and freedom of religion by banning Tel Aviv residents from putting on tefillin.

Huldai says that in February, the city of Tel Aviv banned all kinds of stands (including tefillin stands which urge passers-by to put on phylacteries) within 100 meters of schools and other public buildings that serve minors. He says that Regev intentionally distorted the facts and refused to correct her statements. He says that he had no input into the decision and that it did not single out tefillin stands.

President Proclaims May As Jewish American Heritage Month

Last week, President Trump issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring May 2020 as Jewish American Heritage Month. The Proclamation reads in part:

This month, we reaffirm our commitment to never compromise our steadfast support for the Jewish community, our rejection of anti-Semitic bigotry, and our disdain for malicious attacks of hatred.  Jewish Americans strengthen, sustain, and inspire our country through dedication to family, respect for cherished traditions, and commitment to the values of justice and equality that unite Americans of every faith and background.

Israel's High Court Invalidates Ban On Bringing Chametz Into Hospitals During Passover

Jerusalem Post reports that yesterday Israel's High Court of Justice, in a 2-1 decision, invalidated the Chief Rabbinate's ban on patients and visitors bringing food that is not kosher for Passover (chametz) into patients' hospital rooms.  It also invalidated the order to search those entering hospitals during Passover for chametz. According to the paper's report:

In a majority ruling, judges Uzi Vogelman and Ofer Grosskopf wrote that the ban harms the fundamental rights for the autonomy of the individual and freedom of religion.

They wrote that it also harms the dignity of patients and their right to self-determination and the exercise of their own choices and preferences.

Chabad's Messianist Movement Loses Battle Over Control of Synagogue Space

In a dispute that has been litigated since 2004, a New York state trial court in
Agudas Chasidei Chabad of the United States v. Congregation Lubavitch, Inc., (Civil Ct. City of NY, April 28, 2020), ruled that the formal owners of the headquarters of the Chabad movement in the United States may eject from its buildings a faction of the movement that has conducted religious services in the basement of the headquarters building for over 25 years. In its 144-page opinion, the court, relying on neutral principles of civil law rather than religious doctrine, gave a victory to the portion of the movement that rejects claims that the late rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson who died in 1994, should be referred to as the Messiah. The court said in part:

Rebbe Menchem Mendel Schneerson determined the power and authority granted to the owners of these properties, not this Court. His intentions and only his intentions were made clear by granting full authority to the owners, through Boards of Trustees, not the congregants or the Gabboim, over the religious corporation’s real property and personal property. This Court has the legal obligation to enforce the bylaws, religious corporation law and subsequent amendments to their contents. Just as the congregants had no legal rights to challenge the decision of the Board of Trustees to demolish a church, the congregation and the Gabboim have no legal rights to continue in possession after the Board of Trustees granted authorization tocommence these legal proceedings to recover possession of the subject premises by proper board action.

Anash.org reports on the decision.

New Jersey's COVID-19 Ban Enforced Against Religious Life-Cycle Events

Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday published this report on enforcement in Lakewood, New Jersey of the state's COVID-19 ban on large gatherings:

Fifteen men were charged with violating Gov. Phil Murphy’s ban on large gatherings during the coronavirus crisis after they attended an Orthodox Jewish funeral Wednesday in Lakewood, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday.

The gathering was one of several in Lakewood in recent weeks in which police were called to break up large groups of people. Other events included a bat mitzvah over the weekend; four separate weddings in which four people who hosted them were charged with a disorderly person offense or with maintaining a nuisance; and a gathering of about 25 young men at a school in which the headmaster was charged with maintaining a nuisance.

White House Briefs New York's Orthodox Rabbis On COVID-19 Precautions

Jerusalem Post and Jewish Insider report that the White House yesterday held a conference call with 15 leading Orthodox rabbis in the New York area to encourage them to follow the White House guidelines designed to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The call was conducted by Avi Berkowitz, an Orthodox Jew who is an assistant to the President. More than 100 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in New York's Orthodox Jewish Borough Park neighborhood. After the call, the Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, ordered all synagogues and Jewish schools in the largely Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel to close.

Jewish School Sues Town For Religious Discrimination

A religious discrimination suit was filed in a New York federal district court this week by an Orthodox Jewish girl's school against the Town of Clarkstown, New York charging it with wrongfully preventing the school from purchasing a Baptist Church property.  The complaint (full text) in Ateres Bais Yaakov Academy of Rockland v. Town of Clarkston, (SDNY, filed 2/18/2020), alleges in part:

In early January 2019, in reaction to ABY’s pending permit application following its entry into a contract for the purchase of the Property, Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann, other Clarkstown officials and members of a Rockland County political party, members of CUPON, and CUPON’s counsel met to concoct a plan to prevent ABY’s purchase of the Property.

... In parallel to the manufactured public pressure from CUPON, the Town denied ABY’s permit application through a blatant misapplication of its zoning laws....

Following its knowing interference with and evisceration of ABY’s contract topurchase the  Property and months of delay, the Town purchased the Property for itself. For the Town, this is but the latest example in a demonstrable pattern of wreaking havoc on religious property applicants to prevent their engagement in the Clarkstown community. 

Lower Hudson News reports on the lawsuit.

Orthodox Jewish Family Ejected From Flight Sue American Airlines

An Orthodox Jewish family filed suit in a Texas federal district court last week charging American Airlines with religious, racial and national origin discrimination, as well as defamation, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit comes after the husband, wife and their 19-month old daughter were removed from an American Airlines flight. The complaint (full text) in Adler v. American Airlines, Inc., (SD TX, filed 1/28/2020) alleges that the Adlers were told by an American Airlines agent to deplane. Once off the plane, they were told that they had been ejected on instructions from the pilot because of extremely offensive body odor. In exchanges that followed, the Adlers rejected the claim, but the airline's agent allegedly told the Adlers "that he knew that Orthodox Jews take baths once a week." The complaint goes on to allege that an online search for "body odor" turns up the Adlers' name. Courthouse News Service and Detroit Free Press report on the lawsuit.

Jewish Day School May Move Ahead With Some Claims In Dispute With New York Village

A press release from First Liberty describes the claims that gave rise to an opinion by a New York federal district court last week:

The lawsuit, filed in November 2018, alleges that government officials in the Village of Airmont, New York and the Suffern Central School District engaged in a deliberate effort to dissuade Orthodox Jewish residents from staying in or moving to the Village of Airmont. Central UTA owns 21 acres of property within the Village of Airmont that for nearly 20 years served as both a children’s school and day camp. The Village granted multiple approvals for the private, non-Orthodox school to operate. However, since Central UTA purchased the property in 2016 and advised the Village of its plans to build new buildings, Village officials have repeatedly used discriminatory zoning tactics to prevent Central UTA from operating.

In a similar effort, the local school district, Suffern Central, denied Central UTA children transportation and special education services even though it provided these same services to the previous school.

In Central UTA of Monsey v. Village of Airmont, New York, (SD NY, Jan. 23, 2020), the court held that claims growing out of the attempt to obtain approval for building two new school buildings and renovating an existing building should be dismissed for lack of ripeness. However the court allowed plaintiffs to move ahead with their RLUIPA, 1st Amendment and 14th Amendment claims growing out of a Notice of Violation issued as to the operation of a school for 200 to 300 students in an existing building and the failure to provide transportation and special needs services. The Notice of Violation placed the school at risk for over $2 million in fines.

Son's Wish To Be Cremated Prevails Over Mother's Religious Objections

In In re Remains of Ghostley, (AZ App., Jan. 22, 2020), a mother appealed the order of a probate court directing that the remains of her adult son be cremated.  The son's father and the son's girl friend both affirmed that the son's wishes were to be cremated and to have his ashes spread over the places he loved.  The mother contended that her Jewish religious beliefs opposed cremation and that the thought of her son's being cremated caused her to suffer emotional hardship. Arizona statutes provide that the decedent's wishes must be followed "if they are reasonable and do not impose an economic or emotional hardship." The Arizona appellate court concluded:

[T]he probate court did not err in making the factual determination that Mother’s distress arising from her son’s wishes to be cremated did not rise to the level of “emotional hardship” as contemplated by § 36-831.01. We defer to a trial court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous....

Mother testified that her distress stemmed primarily from her professed religious beliefs, the sincerity of which we do not purport to question here. However ... nothing compelled the court to elevate Mother’s religious beliefs above the wishes of her son. Notably, the record reflects that decedent was also religious, and his own spiritual beliefs could have played a role in his decision to be cremated.

AP reports on the decision.

Suit Filed Against Synagogue Picketers

A lawsuit was filed last week in a Michigan federal district court against protesters who, every Saturday for the last 16 years, have picketed an Ann Arbor synagogue with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish signs. The 85-page complaint (full text) in Gerber v. Herskovitz, (ED MI, filed 12/19/2019) contends in part:

The conduct of the protesters is infringing on the 1st Amendment right of the congregants to exercise their freedom of religion without being harassed and insulted by the protesters. The City, by its failure to enforce its own Code provisions to curtail the protesters' conduct, is aiding and abetting the protesters harassment of the congregants, thereby making the protesters state actors under 42 U.S.C. §1983 and the protesters and the City co-conspirators under §§ 42 U.S.C. 1983 and 1985(3)....

The 1st Amendment right of free speech does not entitle a speaker to use that right repeatedly as a bludgeon, for weeks and years at a time, in the same location, rather than as a means of legitimate communication in an effort to convey information and persuade others to the speaker's point of view.

M Live reports on the lawsuit. [Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]