Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, called for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reject the Florida Department of Corrections’ appeal claiming that it can refuse to provide kosher food in its prisons on financial grounds. The Eleventh Circuit Court is scheduled to hear Florida’s appeal of United States of America v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections and Florida Department of Corrections on Tuesday, October 7.
The Orthodox Union, together with other leading Orthodox Jewish organizations, filed a “Friend of the Court” brief, authored by noted attorney Nathan Lewin, contesting Florida’s assertion in the case. In the brief, the organizations argued that by denying kosher food to all its inmates because of a “participation explosion” in the kosher diet program, the state of Florida has “suppressed a fundamental observance of the Jewish faith.”