Anti-Orthodox Center?

First, one of its constituent members, the American Jewish Historical Society, sold off what some scholars believe to be communal treasures — portraits of a leading Colonial Jewish family.

Then it was learned that the Center for Jewish History, on West 16th Street, was losing more than $1 million a year, which led to sharp budget cuts and some layoffs.

And in another blow to the institution often touted as the Jewish people’s Smithsonian, a U.S. District Court judge recently let stand one part of a lawsuit against the center and its chairman, Bruce Slovin, alleging religious discrimination. The suit was filed in 2002 by two Orthodox employees who were fired.

Rabbi David Shain, a chasidic Jew with a long beard, according to court papers, used to operate the center’s cafeteria, the Date Palm Café. In the suit, he claimed Slovin visited the café and suggested to Rabbi Shain that he trim his beard. When the latter refused, citing religious beliefs, Slovin, according to the suit, persisted, later remarking to another employee that Rabbi Shain “looks sloppy with his tzitzis.”

Less than a year later, in April of 2003, Rabbi Shain was fired.

Together with another employee who was fired — an Orthodox woman named Bella Parnes who did public relations work at the center — Shain pressed charges, claiming the center constituted a “hostile work environment.” Parnes claimed her firing also had to do with age and sex discrimination.

Hearing the case in December, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald granted the center’s motion for summary judgment and threw out the hostile work environment, age and sex discrimination charges, ruling that the plaintiffs have not established enough of a case.

But she let stand the charges concerning wrongful termination for religious discrimination, so the case seems headed for a jury trial. No date has yet been set.

In her ruling, Judge Buchwald wrote that both Shain and Parnes ‘presented evidence both that the decision to terminate them was influenced by Mr. Slovin and that he had expressed hostility toward Orthodox Jews, giving rise to an inference of discrimination.”

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Phyllis Gelman, did not comment on the case.

A spokesperson for the center said, “We are aggressively defending the outrageous claims made by the plaintiffs, and the suit has absolutely no merit.”