Court Won’t Stop Protests Outside Michigan Synagogue

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Henry Herskovitz leads a protest with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages outside the Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Dec. 28, 2019. A federal appeals court said Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, that protests at the site were protected by the First Amendment. (Ryan Stanton/Ann Arbor News via AP)

DETROIT (AP) — Provocative pro-Palestinian protests outside a Jewish synagogue in Michigan are protected by the Constitution’s First Amendment, a federal court appeals said Wednesday.

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The court declined to stop the demonstrations or set restrictions in Ann Arbor. The protests have occurred on a weekly basis since 2003, with people holding signs that say “Jewish Power Corrupts,” “Stop Funding Israel” and “End the Palestinian Holocaust.”

Members of Beth Israel Congregation, including some Holocaust survivors, said the protests have interfered with their Saturday worship and caused emotional distress.

“But the congregants have not alleged that the protesters ever blocked them from using their synagogue or that the protests were even audible from inside the building,” Judge Jeffrey Sutton said.

He said a proposed remedy — a 1,000-foot (305-meter) buffer and limits on signs — would likely violate the First Amendment.

“The key obstacle is the robust protections that the First Amendment affords to nonviolent protests on matters of public concern,” Sutton said in summarizing the case.

He was joined by Judge David McKeague. Judge Eric Clay agreed with the result but on different grounds.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief in support of the activists, saying the protests are entitled to protection even if “offensive, upsetting and distasteful.”

“If public officials and courts have discretion to suppress speech they don’t like, then none of us truly enjoys the freedom of speech,” Dan Korobkin of the ACLU said.


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georgeg
georgeg
2 years ago

I wonder what the reaction would be to a demonstration outside a Mosque demanding that (for example) Gaza allow open borders (which would include returning all that land and property of, for example, Gush Atif etc.) And, of course, the sign “Muslim Power Corrupts”.

Mike
Mike
2 years ago

Why don’t those in the shul do the same in front of a mosque – see if these immoral judges rule the same way

Educate
Educate
2 years ago

Teach them what the Torah says about Eretz Yisroel, especially the first Rashi of Bereishis.