Jackson Township is under active investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and the New Jersey Attorney General regarding its land use practices, particularly its restrictions on Eruvs, schools (Yeshivas) and dormitories.

Jackson potentially violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and other anti-discrimination regulations. Additionally, it has been reported Jackson officials carried out unlawful surveillance of private homes seeking to bust “hidden prayer groups.”

An extensive scope of documents and communications, dating back several years, have been demanded by the Feds and State, as they seek to determine whether and how deeply Jackson acted to keep Orthodox Jews out of their town.

This comes even after the township approved a resolution last week allowing the placement of Eruvs on township utility poles, overturning an earlier decision. Agudath Israel of America has filed a lawsuit against the township.

The State subpoena specifically requests all written and verbal communications, including emails and text messages, from residents to Township officials regarding the Orthodox presence in Jackson. There are thousands of such emails, mostly from a handful of hate-filled individuals to every member of the Township Government and to Code Enforcement and other officials.

New Jersey’s Attorney General also has a pending lawsuit against Mahawah township.

New Jersey Attorney General’s subpoena, obtained via Jackson Leaks:

US Department of Justice subpoena, obtained via Jackson Leaks:

Jackson Leaks notes there is actually a bit of irony here: while the ordinances in question were being conceived, Jackson actually had their attorneys send their own request to the NJ Attorney General and the US Department of Justice for investigations into housing practices:

In response to the Township’s letter, the NJ Attorney General declined to investigate while the DOJ doesn’t seem to have ever responded. In the end though, both turned their sights to discriminatory behavior by Jackson officials themselves.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)