A federal appeals court overturned a lower court’s decision that permitted an Orthodox Jewish congregation to operate a Shul in a residential neighborhood of Los Angeles’ Hancock Park area. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the lower court erred when it dismissed a lawsuit by a neighborhood group. The League of Residential Neighborhood Advocates contended that an agreement between Congregation Etz Chaim and the city of Los Angeles violated zoning laws.
The matter first surfaced in 1996, when Etz Chaim applied to the city zoning administrator for a variance to use a run-down residence at Highland Avenue and 3rd Street as a synagogue. The application was denied.
Citing a federal law that protects religious organizations from discrimination by local zoning boards, the congregation then sued the city in federal court. The city agreed to a settlement that permitted the congregation to worship at the site — on which it had built a greatly expanded structure — but restricted other congregation activities there.
It was this settlement agreement that the neighborhood group challenged. U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder dismissed the group’s complaint in December 2003.
The appeals court agreed with the neighborhood group and sent the matter back to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to be reconsidered.
The Shul’s name is now Bais Moshe Yitzchok in memory of Moshele Rubin A”H.
(Source: LA Times)
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18 Responses
It is pure anti-semitism coupled by mesiros from a different shul in the same neighborhood.
Anti-semitism is understandable, the mesiros is pure sinas chinam. If Jews will undermind Jews why do you expect the non-Jews to be sympathetic to our cause?
This is not anti-semitism, but it has caused tremendous anti-semitism in the area. A few of my friends were confronted by a resident who claims that the jews lied and paid off city officials. He said that he wanted to bulldoze the place. The jews do not only worship, but use it for tons of events, blocking driveways and disrupting the neighborhood. I support shuls everywhere, but not at the expense of such a chilul hashem for the entire Hancock Park.
have you seen the building?
its an eye sore it does not even remotely look like a house
if i spent millions on a house in HP i would not want the schull next to me
HP is a VERY expensive place to live
people are just protecting their investment
layid – don’t spend millions on a home.
layid, why must people buy million dollar homes? The fault is theirs.
#7 – so we can trash their homes and be mafsid them money? How much is one allowed to spend for a home? Is $800,000 in Monsey and Brooklyn too much? How about $500,000 in Lakewood? or $400,000 in Waterbury?
My family lives around the area where that shul is and I agree that it does not look like a house at all…it really does not fit into the neighborhood. It’s terrible that Jews would try to finaygel their way around the zoning laws or any type of laws – terrible chilul Hashem!
I completely concur with Yidle. layid said they spend MILLIONS on the homes there. That tells you something. MILLIONS are unnecesary for a home. And we all know the extravegance that occurs in homes there.
Also, the homeowners have NO right to stop their neighbor from building as they please on THEIR PROPERTY (as long as it is within the zoning law — a fact that is still undetermined and being contested in court in this particular case). It is THEIR property, not the neighbors. Even if that reduces the paper value of a neighbors property.
We are in golus Yidden, we are in golus. Please do not forget that. Spare your mllions for better endeavors then on home building.
Please do not display your wealth recklessly. Do not stick it in your neighbors faces. And do not forget the resentment it causes by our hosts in golus, when a Yid flashes wealth.
I learnt the halachas. Basically, a person may build his property as he sees fit. His neighbor may not intervene.
And wanton display of wealth, such as an extravegant home (as unfortunately seen often in la and bp), is a chilul hashem.
Does anyone here realize that the standard 3 bedroom house in the jewish neighborhood in LA runs upwards of 8-900k? Now say you have eight kids…not sure that house will do. I am pretty confident that following the laws of the land is a chiyuv…Zoning laws are still the law of the land….
They haven’t violated the zoning law, as they are protected by the federal rulipa law.
Yidel,
they have violated zoning laws
they just got a variance to say the zoning laws do not apply to them
and to all the haters, many of the people in HP who have homes worth millions only paid a few hundred thousand for their homes.
they have shot up in value recently.
Nearly every RULIPA lawsuit is won by the religous institution. Checkup the caselaw. It is ironclad. That is why the county settled. Yidels point was that they were within the law in building the shul, variance or zoning.
The real question here is who essentially is behind this lawsuit against a makom kodesh.
Behind the lawsuit is another shul in the area. Beis Naftali!
P.S. We’re not talking about in middle of a block here. It’s on a corner. A MAJOR NOISY INTERSECTION!!! It only bothers those who insist on being bothered by it!