Neighbors Rejoice After Closure of Chabad Center

ROCKVILLE, MD — Members of Chabad Israeli Center in Rockville may need to look for a new place to worship after a Montgomery County District Court judge closed the synagogue for repeated violations of a court order that allowed it to operate only for Sabbath services.

At a court hearing July 26, Judge Brian Kim ordered that the chabad, at 216 Rollins Ave., shut down after it violated the terms and conditions of the judge’s May 14 order that allowed it to operate only on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, and with a fire watch system in place to ensure public safety.

Under the court order, fire monitors must be on site two hours prior to the start of services and up to 30 minutes following services to ensure public safety until building renovations can be made. The chabad used a private company to monitor its services.

When Chabad Israeli Center applied for a use permit to operate a child care center in June 2008, city officials learned it operated without an occupancy permit, but the city’s Planning Commission granted the chabad a use permit the following November. In July 2009, the city’s fire marshal issued a citation to the center for violating city fire prevention and building codes.

On Dec. 15, District Court ruled Chabad Israeli Center could continue operations if Rabbi Shlomo Beitsh, owner of the house, provided adequate construction and fire marshal plans. On Jan. 21, Kim ordered the center to cease services after Beitsh’s building drafts failed to meet the court’s satisfaction.

Steven VanGrack, the Rockville attorney representing Beitsh and the synagogue, said Chabad Israeli Center made efforts to follow the May 14 court order while it applied for a permanent occupancy permit.

“However, there were three instances where the chabad and rabbi went out of line,” VanGrack said.

VanGrack said Beitsh held two meetings at Chabad Israeli Center on days without a fire monitor in place. A meeting was held June 17, a Thursday, and was attended by approximately 12 people, while a second meeting was held July 6, a Tuesday.

Chabad Israeli Center also violated Kim’s order when Beitsh allowed a few girls to stay at the residence for a few nights after the rabbi with whom they were staying in Bethesda had a family emergency and could no longer care for the girls.

Kim’s ruling comes as a relief to nearby homeowners who have been critical of Chabad Israeli Center.

Tony Bur has lived a block and a half away from the chabad in the 600 block of Muriel Street for 26 years. He is part of a neighborhood committee that monitors the synagogue on issues ranging from parking and traffic congestion to occupancy capacity.

He and another neighbor, Katherine Schwering of Lorraine Court, have attended all court hearings regarding the chabad.

“What we have done is to establish and commit ourselves to viewing illegal activities at the chabad,” Bur said.

Bur said he monitored Sabbath services at Chabad Israeli Center from the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex. From there, he would count the number of occupants moving in and out of the house to ensure the chabad abided by the maximum occupancy limit of 25 set by Kim in May, he said.

“I respect the rabbi’s right to practice his religion in his house,” Bur said. “What I’m opposed to is violation of use permits and codes.”

VanGrack said the neighborhood committee in place to monitor the chabad has disrupted the lives of the Beitsh family, who live next door to the synagogue. He said the Beitsh family has spotted neighbors standing across the street and behind trees and sitting in cars and taking photographs of the chabad.

The neighborhood monitoring has escalated to the point where one of the rabbi’s daughters suffered from nightmares and became scared to attend Sabbath services.

Sara Beitsh, the family matriarch, told VanGrack she felt her family was being stalked, he said.

“She felt her family was being oppressed,” VanGrack said. “Hopefully, now the chabad has closed down, there won’t be a need to for them to lurk around.”

Beitsh and his family are in Israel and could not be reached for comment by Tuesday.

Bur said he felt sympathy for Beitsh’s children, but defended the actions of the neighbors.

“I regret the children have a problem with this,” he said. “Let’s face it, these little children learned about us from their parents. They don’t have the faintest idea who we are unless their parents tell them.”

With the indefinite closure of Chabad Israeli Center, Beitsh will conduct Sabbath services at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington on Montrose Road in Rockville.

The City of Rockville has not yet issued occupancy or use permits to the chabad, but Susan Swift, director of Community Planning and Development Services, said the July 26 ruling will in no way impact the ongoing permit process.

She said the chabad has applied for its permits and is working on them.