by Aryeh HaKohen Katz

According to the Miami Herald, Miami Beach officials have agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit by Congregation Bais Yeshaya D’Kerestir known as the “Keristier Shteible.” The harassment claimed included First Amendment violations by the city as well as code harassment issues.  The city installed a Police Camera outside the home to monitor traffic at the Shteibel and claimed an excess of hundreds of people allegedly entering the home. However according to both court pleadings and the City of Miami Beach’s own admission, the City of Miami Beach lost the video and only presented still shots of “Jewish looking people” and families on the street at all hours of the day during Pesach.

The City of Miami Beach Code Enforcement testified that every “Jewish looking person” on the street walked into the Keristier Shteibel. Court docket motions and orders state that the City of Miami Beach had the City’s Special Magistrate execute a cease and desist injunction to stop the davening. The City of Miami Beach Filed an Admission of Error and reversed the Special Magistrates decision only after the Federal lawsuit was filed. Further court pleadings demonstrated that the City of Miami Beach had sent code inspectors there to film indoors and had further sent inspectors an astounding 126 times in the past two years.

The Herald reported that “under the terms of the settlement, the congregation must limit the number of cars parked in the swale along 34th Street and Prairie Avenue, according to a person familiar with the agreement. and that they may not use outdoor speakers for prayer sessions.”

The latter point is somewhat puzzling as using outdoor speakers for prayer is never done in orthodox minyanim.

The Miami Herald erroneously reported that in July 2021, city officials found that the home’s ceiling had “collapsed” and said the building should not be occupied.

The judge in the case had issued a Summary Judgement that found the city at fault in many of its assertions and actions.