Commissioner Keith Wasserstrom sent an e-mail Tuesday calling for a special meeting to discuss settling the case with the Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad Lubavitch and the U.S. Department of Justice.
No meeting had been scheduled as of Friday evening. The trial is scheduled to start June 26.
In the e-mail, Wasserstrom said he fears that a pending ruling by a federal judge will erase city laws that grant special permits to religious groups that operate in residential neighborhoods. The permits are at the center of the Chabad's lawsuit, which alleges that the city, led by Commissioner Sal Oliveri, discriminated when it took away the synagogue's' permit in 2003. City officials argue that they pulled the permit because the synagogue did not adhere to zoning codes.
Settle synagogue suit, commissioner urges
Hollywood, FL – A city commissioner is urging his colleagues to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by an Orthodox Jewish synagogue after the city yanked its permit.
Commissioner Keith Wasserstrom sent an e-mail Tuesday calling for a special meeting to discuss settling the case with the Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad Lubavitch and the U.S. Department of Justice.
No meeting had been scheduled as of Friday evening. The trial is scheduled to start June 26.
In the e-mail, Wasserstrom said he fears that a pending ruling by a federal judge will erase city laws that grant special permits to religious groups that operate in residential neighborhoods. The permits are at the center of the Chabad’s lawsuit, which alleges that the city, led by Commissioner Sal Oliveri, discriminated when it took away the synagogue’s’ permit in 2003. City officials argue that they pulled the permit because the synagogue did not adhere to zoning codes.
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