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April 22, 2004
Union
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
Applauds Federal Court Decision in Favor
of Synagogues; Florida Town
Discriminated in Denying Congregants’
Equal Treatment in Property Use
Today, the Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America welcomed a ruling
announced yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th
Circuit against the town of Surfside, Florida and in favor of two
Orthodox Jewish synagogues.
The two congregations that brought suit -- Young Israel of Bal
Harbor and Congregation Midrash Sephardi -- had rented space above
a bank in the Surfside’s commercial district. Surfside’s zoning
code permits private clubs, lodge halls, dance and music studios,
and language schools in the commercial district, but excludes
houses of worship. When threatened with eviction, the
congregations sued under the Religious Land Use and
Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) – a statute enacted in
2000 due to the intensive efforts of the UOJCA and other religious
liberty advocates. The congregations were represented by noted
constitutional attorney (and UOJCA board member) Nathan Lewin; and
the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice
aggressively supported the congregations’ lawsuit.
The federal trial court ruled in favor of the city last year.
Reversing that decision, the federal Court of Appeals today held
that Surfside had violated RLUIPA’s “equal terms” provision, which
requires that religious assemblies be treated no less equally than
“a non-religious assembly or institution.” By allowing private
clubs such as a Masonic lodge, but yet barring the congregations,
the Court of Appeals held that the city had violated RLUIPA. The
court rejected Surfside’s claim that its private clubs contribute
to the local economy in a manner that the synagogues did not. The
court also rejected the city’s claim that RLUIPA exceeded
Congress’ legislative authority, and its claim that RLUIPA’s goal
of protecting houses of worship from discrimination violated the
“separation of church and state.”
Nathan Diament - UOJCA director of public policy stated:
The Orthodox Jewish community is deeply gratified – as all
Americans who cherish religious freedom should be -- that the
appeals court has rejected the use of zoning regulations as a tool
of religious discrimination. We congratulate the congregations and
attorney Nat Lewin on achieving a critical victory which will
serve as a precedent for similar cases around the nation. And we
applaud the U.S. Department of Justice which, under the leadership
of President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft and Assistant
Attorney General Acosta, has made the defense of religious liberty
a top priority as evidenced by their active participation in this
case.
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