NY Daily News

Judge Rules Hasidic NYPD Recruit Suffered Religious Discrimination Over Beard

A rookie Hasidic cop fired by the NYPD for refusing to trim his beard was the victim of religious discrimination, a federal judge said Friday.

The decision appears to pave the way for Fishel Litzman’s reinstatement.

“I want people to know that you can follow your dreams and never have to compromise your religion,” Litzman, 39, told the Daily News outside his home in Monsey. “That’s what makes this county so great.”

Litzman was fired in June 2012, a month shy of graduating from the Police Academy. He said he got booted because he refused to adhere to department standards limiting beards to no more than 1 millimeter in length.

His lawyer, Nathan Lewin, filed suit on his behalf, arguing that the city came up with an “after-the-fact rationalization” by saying facial hair would prevent him wearing a gas mask with a proper fit. The city at the time said Litzman would put himself and others at risk if he needed to wear the mask in an emergency.

But Federal Judge Harold Baer Friday upheld Litzman’s constitutional claim, criticized police and told his attorney to submit within 10 days a “proposed order.”

“We’re going to ask that he be reinstated,” said Lewin, a legal heavyweight who has fought and won beard battles on behalf of observant Jews with the Army and Air Force. “We hope this is the beginning of the end of the (NYPD’s) refusal to grant full religious accommodations to applicants who may not, for religious reasons, trim their beards.”

The NYPD said it’s reviewing Baer’s decision. A spokeswoman for the Law Department said, “We respectfully disagree with the court and are considering our options.”

Baer, in his decision, agreed that the NYPD would suffer an “undue hardship” if every officer wasn’t capable of wearing a gas mask that seals tightly against the face, without facial hair interference. But he also noted that the NYPD could not provide documentation that the 1-millimeter restriction is an official rule. The NYPD failed to enforce the restriction against cops not granted an exemption, such as undercover officers, he added.

Litzman, a father of five, who has been working as a paramedic since getting canned, says his goal since that day has remained the same.

“The primary objective was always to get back into the academy and do what I always dreamed of doing,” he said.

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Fishel Litzman with his daughters (left to right) Chaya Muska, 10, Chana, 7, Itasara, 9, and wife Miriam Litzman. Litzman was fired from the NYPD’s Police Academy when he refused to comply with the requirement to shave his beard, which has religious significance, down to 1 millimeter in length.

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16 Comments

  • how to qualify

    you see In order to qualify, you need to be.
    1.no taller than 5 feet
    2.weigh no-less than 300 pounds(or no more than 100)3. hit five people before hitting your target.
    4.have an I Q of no more than 80.

  • i agree with #1

    when I came to Crown Heights from overseas was shocked to see so many police officers being overweight! They wouldn’t be able to run to safe their own lives! I am absolutely appalled at what has become of the NEW YORK POLICE FORCE!!

  • my hero

    You have shown the world what it means to be a true chossid in today’s day and age.
    Kol hackovod much Hatzlacha did an notzach

    • Not a hero

      Fishel Litzman is not a hero and he’s not “entitled” to work for the NYPD. They owe him nothing. Even if he’s re-recruited and makes the force, he’ll be a misfit and won’t be accepted by his peers. Then, after a few years of further “harassment”, he’ll file another lawsuit against the city for discrimination. Pushing 40, he’ll be lucky to work on the force for twenty more years unless a big fat settlement payout at 45 works out in his favor…

      It’s this type of attention getting charade that angers both goyim and non-religious Jews, lehavdil. Neither group sees Litzman as “following his dreams” and both understand it to be the farce that it is. He’s not courageous. He’s playing the role of victim to exploit some backwards liberal agenda that many “frum” Jews in CH buy in to (i.e. “if I’m entitled to food stamps to support my 9 children then the NYPD owes me a job”).

      A “real chossid” would not accuse the goyim of discrimination and drag the rest of the frum world down with him in a case where his constitutional rights are not being violated. Just last week, a top goyish baseball player (search Brian Wilson) considered signing with the Yankees, who have a long standing policy against facial hair, but instead chose to stay with his former team because it would’ve meant shaving his beard. This goy, who has no deep spiritual attachment to his beard, is more of a chossid than Fishel Litzman because he sees the bigger picture and realizes that the world doesn’t revolve around him and hence owes him nothing.

    • DISCRIMINATION

      Mr. ‘not a hero’, we live in a great country called America, one in which we have liberties and freedom to practice our religion freely and openly as well as the expectation to not be discriminated upon based on that.

      You are right that Mr. Litzman has a self-serving goal, he wants to obtain gainful employment – which is hardly heroic to you or me, but certainly is to his wife and children.

      But what does this mean for us?

      Well, if you read the article you will see that Litzman and his lawyers successfully proved that the NYPD does not enforce the beard rule – based on which he was terminated – across the board, rather selectively and exclusively drumming him out of the police academy.

      Should the NYPD have not allowed him into the academy at all, clearly stating that he has a beard and therefore cannot be a part of the force, that would be an entirely different argument – still wrong in my opinion. But here they had him on board up until two months before graduation, and only then firing him.

      This is discrimination and we are “entitled” to not be discriminated upon, and your political correct attitude based on which we should all lock ourselves up in the ghettos and march ourselves to the gas chambers, since doing anything different ‘might’ upset the goyim around us and therefor we should simply cease to exists. Right?

      In Chassidus we learn that a person must believe the ‘the world was created for him’ and to not allow people to hold you back. I for one admire what Litzman has accomplished here, and may even open the floodgates to allowing additional public sector jobs be open to religious and orthodox Jews with beards (there are many religious Jews in the force, only without beards).

    • Not a hero to DISCRIMINATION

      He is not being “discriminated” against due to his religion, per se. They fired him because he made a public spectacle of himself in the media and in the community after being accepted to the academy. It was his “look at me, I’m a hero” disposition” that fueled their desire to make an example of him. The “beard rule” was simply a pretext to back up their decision. Had he kept his mouth shut from day one and not showed anyone up they wouldn’t have canned him. Being a paramilitary organization, the NYPD frowns upon individuals whose selfish attempts at glory undermine the very image they’re seeking to promote; that is, a uniform team of professionals who take orders from the top down and not the other way around.

      His goal was not simply to gain employment. If it were that simple he’d be doing something else and wouldn’t have opened his big mouth. His goal, rather, was to pursue something he felt should be guaranteed (entitled) him and he felt no shame in making a public display of this sentiment — hardly the type of professional conduct you’d expect from a rookie cop, let alone a rookie Jewish cop. Fact is, he’s a Yid living in a goyish country and any display of showmanship is not going to help his cause. A real “hero” would go about his job in a manner than respects the standards of his employer. If 35,000 NYPD officers can do it, why can’t Fishel Litzman?

      You quote chassidus as if you’ve actually internalized the concept you wish to espouse. There’s really no point in arguing with a person who believes that, at a literal level, everything a person wants he should get because Hashem created it for him. I suggest you go back and learn the Rebbe’s sicha from Shabbos Parshas Vayigash, 5752. A true chossid knows which battles are worth fighting and which aren’t.

    • DISCRIMINATION

      Mr. Hero, I see that you have some ax to grind with Mr. Litzman and have some personal issues with him. I do not know either of you besides from the article and from your thinly veiled hatred towards Litzman which seems to cloud your ability to have an intellectual conversation on the matter at hand.

      I did a quick search here on CHI and found a number of articles about Fishel Litzman and his struggle with the NYPD, none of them began as you say with Litzman saying “look at me, I’m a hero” disposition” it all began with his firing.

      In Crown Heights there are three individuals who are police officers, Shimon Strauss, Shmuly Tenenbaum and another whose name I don’t know. There is another who comes to mind names Witriol from Williamsburg, and to mo knowledge none of them have big beards (more then 1mm), and that is their right and as you see they have a job.

      Litzman is saying that his religion prevents him from removing his beard which makes the beard rules unfair.

      Recently the NYPD allowed a rule variance for Sikh’s to be able to ware a turban, despite its own uniform violation preventing an officer from wearing his hat.

      Not to compare but the U.S. Army allowed variance so that Rabbi Stern can become a Chaplin. The reason the army did not allow him to join was due to his beard preventing proper use of a gas mask, just like the NYPD. But the Army found a way to allow it.

      And you find in the NYPD itself that they do not enforce the beard rule, but the singled out Litzman for his beard, which he keeps for religious reasons, and that is discrimination.

      A federal judge agreed with him.

      Now based on their demand for relief I see that they want the reason for firing to be issued in an official letter – which I wonder why they didnt issue to begin with – can anyone say religious discrimination lawsuit?

      I suggest you take your misplaced anger and set it aside for the purpose of this discussion if you want to continue it.

    • Not a hero to DISCRIMINATION (again)

      I don’t know Fishel Litzman from Adam and certainly don’t hate him. However, to be sure, I take exception to his self-serving public behavior, which has caused more of a backlash against frum Yidden in the popular media than a less ostentatious approach on his part would have.

      I encourage you to search mainstream media sources (not CH.info) for stories on Fishel Litzman that examine his behavior leading up to his firing. Of course this site will only report on the machlokes that developed after the fact — Reporting the whole story wouldn’t have garnered as much much sympathy from a liberal readership who share the same ideals as Litzman. Your hyper-defensive response to anyone who dares disagree with this sentiment can be considered case in point.

      Please go back and actually read what I wrote in response to your first post before making any more knee-jerk reactions that have no bearing on the discussion.

      As to your request that I “take [my] misplaced anger and set it aside for the purpose of this discussion if you want to continue it” I would advise you to do the same.

  • Fan of Fishel Litzman

    What a kiddush Hashem! We admire you and your whole family. You make a huge difference in the world!

  • a curios reader

    to “not a hero”

    I am confused… i have searched the web and can not find any article showing Litzman as a bigshot, i only see news about him being fired, which he has a full right to make a fuss about. If u can share an article i would like to see it!

    • Not a hero to DISCRIMINATION (again)

      Virtually every article that appeared after his firing in 2012 describes how he was told to cut his beard before entering the academy. By his own admission he flatly refused (on several occasions). Since his natural length is quite short, his superiors didn’t enforce the policy until it was close to game time, a month before graduation, as it were. At this point Litzman conveniently cries “foul” and throws the NYPD under the bus. He knew the policy from the start but instead chose to ride out the charade until he had a reason (“religious persecution”) to sue. If any goy on the street can see this act for the scam it is why can’t you temporarily step away from your delusion that he’s some kind of hero? The NYPD’s only real mistake was their delay in taking action.

      Litzman continues to mock the city, claiming they denied him the opportunity to pursue his “childhood dreams.” What a crock. Most 39-year-old cops are more than halfway through their careers! Ask yourself this: how does a middle-aged man with a wife and five kids suddenly find the time to pursue his “childhood dreams”? I’ll give you a hint: It’s easy when there’s a chance to acquire lots of a certain five letter word that rhymes with “honey”.

  • A Teacher

    I know a cop who lives in Crown Heights, he has no beard and is a greater chossid then most!