Rutherford Institute Update

The Rutherford Institute represented Etz Chaim of Teaneck.

The Rutherford Institute describes it's mission:
"Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated.

The Rutherford Institute has emerged as one of the nation's leading advocates of civil liberties and human rights, litigating in the courts and educating the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting individual freedom in the United States and around the world.

The Institute’s mission is twofold: to provide legal services in the defense of religious and civil liberties and to educate the public on important issues affecting their constitutional freedoms."

ONE YEAR ago I posted in Etz Chaim of Teaneck: Modern Day Robin Hoods?:
"Two things make Etz Chaim special, however. First is the unorthodox manner in which it remodeled the rabbi's residence to create worship space that technically may or may not have been what is commonly considered a synagogue, generating ill will in the process.

The second is the implied threat of a lawsuit against the town if permission is denied. Etz Chaim is represented by the Rutherford Institute, a prominent legal organization that takes cases to protect religious rights. Its 2008 annual report lists Etz Chaim as a "pre-litigation."

Etz Chaim doesn't follow Township rules and will claim that their "religious rights" were violated if their permission is denied."

This is the original article the Rutherford Institute posted on their website from the Jewish Standard.

Important Points:

• Feldman said he believes the prayer group is "among the most above-board and responsible, and we have taken every appropriate step to do everything by the book."
• The rabbi disputed the change-of-use argument, saying that of the 168 hours in a week, only five are devoted to religious services at the house, which are held Friday night and Saturday morning and afternoon.
• "That’s 3 percent of the time," he said. "It is our understanding, confirmed in two meetings with the township, that [a] prayer group in the house is a permitted residential use. Thus, we do not believe that the use has been changed in any way."
• Erlich said the group had filed an appeal to the zoning board to challenge "the interpretation of what they [the township] say is going on at 554 Queen Anne Road. They call it a house of worship [and] place of assembly [but] we call it a private prayer group."
• According to the letter, "[W]hen Rabbi Feldman first decided to have a private prayer group in his home, it was of the utmost importance to him that everything be done above-board and in accordance with local ordinances."
  The letter also explains that services are held on the "Jewish Sabbath and on Yamim Tovim/holidays."
• "We told the town from the beginning what we were doing, and they confirmed that it was acceptable," Feldman said. "We were not trying to hide anything."

The Rutherford Institute 2010 CASE SUMMARY REPORT doesn't include Etz Chaim of Teaneck as one of its clients. Even the Rutherford Institute doesn't consider BOA ruling as discriminating against Rabbi Feldman and Etz Chaim of Teaneck. Etz Chaim of Teaneck got exactly what they wanted and fought for.

Etz Chaim of Teaneck has overplayed their hand.