The New Redlining Against Orthodox Jews

(Hat-tip to CT Law for sending me links to the topic.)

If you think that anti-Semitic protests are happening exclusively on college campuses, think again. A federal case has been launched against a town that exposes housing discrimination against Orthodox Jews in Forestburgh, New York:

In a letter sent Monday to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Attorney General James threw her support behind federal involvement in Lost Lake Holdings, LLC v. Town of Forestburgh, a lawsuit alleging that town officials deliberately weaponized zoning laws and administrative red tape to block a major housing development intended for Chasidic Jewish families. [snip] ‘The assertion that the Town of Forestburgh denied land use applications based on the religious identity of the developers and the potential use of the property by Orthodox Jewish residents is profoundly disturbing,’ James wrote, urging prosecutors to enforce the Fair Housing Act and other federal anti-discrimination statutes.

The letter follows a March filing by the U.S. Department of Justice, which issued a scathing Statement of Interest in support of the developers, arguing that the town’s actions amount to systemic religious discrimination. DOJ attorneys allege that Forestburgh officials—motivated by anti-Semitic bias—reopened a 14-year-old environmental review, imposed inflated tax assessments, and repeatedly denied building permits in a coordinated effort to sabotage a 2,627-home project by Lost Lake Holdings.

The previous owner of the land had planned a development of over 2,600 homes, and the town was delighted at the news. But the owner sold the land to two Jewish-owned companies, which caused concern for local officials:

After local officials realized Hasidic Jews had acquired the land for development, the town set up a series of obstructions to prevent construction. Local officials and inspectors denied building permit applications, conducted an illegal search of the property, over-assessed the value of the site to drive up taxes, issued stop-work orders, and adopted a local law that imposed a 1,000% increase in fees, among other measures, the lawsuit alleged.

To make matters worse, there were incriminating emails about their bigotry:

Internal emails cited by the DOJ reveal the chilling extent of the town’s animus. In one, a planning board chair urged colleagues, ‘Don’t be scared about the Hasidic threat—we’re energized and have the cash to fight and make their lives miserable.’ Another widely circulated email called Orthodox Jews a ‘sect notorious for misogyny and child abuse,’ warning of their community’s alleged ‘destruction’ of Forestburgh.

You’d think this might be an isolated example, but another town in New Jersey has tried to keep Orthodox Jews out of their community:

Agudath Israel is outraged by several ordinances recently passed and others that are being contemplated by the City of Linden designed to prevent Orthodox Jews from moving there, in line with the mayor’s recent comments to ‘keep our community from being taken over by guys with big hats and curls.’ These discriminatory measures represent a blatant attempt to marginalize religious and minority communities under the guise of land-use regulation.

In our country’s past, we have criticized the redlining activities that occurred against black Americans and took steps to stop these illegal actions:

Redlining is a discriminatory practice that puts services, usually financial services—out of reach for residents of certain areas based on race or ethnicity. Redlining is illegal. Evidence of redlining is the systematic denial of mortgages, insurance, loans, and other financial services based on location—and that area’s default history—rather than on an individual’s qualifications and creditworthiness. Notably, the practice of redlining is felt the most by residents of minority neighborhoods.

Now it’s time to take action on behalf of our Jewish communities. We can’t assume that anti-Semitic acts will be limited to the colleges and their nearby streets. It’s clear that there are entire communities in the 21^st century who are still indulging in hateful and discriminatory actions against Jews. Given the increase in anti-Semitic activities in this country, will there be more of these kinds of discriminatory actions against Jewish citizens?

[originally published in American Thinker]