http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/09/07/Jewish-group-suing-town-for-discrimination/UPI-64281283915744/

Jewish group suing town for discrimination

Published: Sept. 7, 2010 at 11:15 PM

LITCHFIELD, Conn., Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A lawsuit by an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and his congregation alleging religious bias by a Connecticut town may get to trial this fall, court records show.

U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall ruled in August there was enough evidence of discrimination against Jewish people to warrant sending the 2007 case to trial to determine whether the Litchfield borough's historic district commission discriminated against Rabbi Joseph Eisenbach and Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield County when it rejected the Hasidic group's application to renovate a historic house in the town to build a synagogue and related structures, the Hartford Courant reported Tuesday.

The crux of the controversy, the Courant said, was the tone of the commissioners' meetings on the Jewish group's application.

Commission Chairwoman Wendy Kuhne objected to the group's proposed use of a Star of David on the synagogue by stating that "(it) may not comply with the [historic] district."

Chabad Lubavitch's complaint alleges another commission member commented on the group's intention to use facing stone from Israel, saying, "Stone from Israel? We'll have to get the whole town out for this one."

A third commissioner said the group's proposals would "turn Litchfield into a factory town."

A lawyer for historic district homeowners said Chabad's plans should be "reviewed as if it were a strip joint."

Opponents of the plan argue Jewish group's services are poorly attended. Proponents dispute that, saying the congregation's summer camp and other activities are popular and the congregation has outgrown its current space in a Dunkin' Donuts basement, the Courant reported.

"The defendants are raising issues unrelated to the simple fact that the Chabad is being denied a synagogue in the borough. Even without proper religious facilities, Chabad of Litchfield produces significant and well-attended religious services," said Chabad's lawyer, Kenneth Slater of Hartford.