Rabbi Goes to Court to Block Shul Vote

BONDI, Australia [AJN] — In a desperate bid to broker a deal, Bondi Mizrachi Synagogue’s embattled Rabbi Moshe Gutnick is seeking a court order to block an upcoming vote that will make his position redundant and force the matter before a Jewish court.

On Tuesday, lawyers for Rabbi Gutnick filed an application with the NSW Supreme Court seeking a declaration to have conditions over his employment mediated before a beth din.

A judge is expected to consider the motion in court on Friday.

The last-ditch appeal comes after Mizrachi’s board called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) earlier this month to consider a proposal to make the rabbi redundant after more than 22 years of service.

The shul’s board said it would conduct the vote because a failed merger bid with The Great Synagogue earlier this year had left the congregation battling an operational deficit and shrinking membership.

The board has argued that making the rabbi’s position redundant was the only way to keep the shul afloat.

Otherwise, it will be forced to sell its Torahs and eventually the shul premises.

Congregants are scheduled to vote on the proposal next Tuesday, but Rabbi Gutnick’s latest step could stop the vote from going ahead.

In a letter to congregants sent out on Tuesday, Rabbi Gutnick justified his actions, saying he was forced to pursue civil court action, after the board refused to discuss his employment or attend a din Torah (mediation before a beth din).

He also said the board gave no prior warning over its plans to pursue his redundancy.

“There had been no discussions and no negotiations. Since then, as per my contract, I have sought formal mediation, which was refused,” he said.

“In order to protect the welfare of my family and my capacity to provide for them, I have been forced to take the extraordinary step of seeking orders from the civil courts.”

Rabbi Gutnick said he is now seeking resolution through a zablo -– a beth din appointed by the case litigants -– or an established beth din.

Because the rabbi serves on the Sydney Beth Din, which would preclude his case from being heard, he has suggested the matter go before the London Beth Din, the Manchester Beth Din or a beth din in America.

“My sole intention in this action is to resolve matters fairly and in accordance with the laws of our holy Torah,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mizrachi president Mark Schneider has criticised Rabbi Gutnick’s decision to commence court proceedings without “the courtesy of notice” and said the board would resist any attempt to postpone or adjourn the scheduled vote at Tuesday’s meeting.

“The board does not consider that we are in a contractual dispute with the rabbi, and it is for that reason that we have not consented to follow a halachic process to resolve such dispute,” he told The AJN.

“The EGM has been called on a requisition of the members, in accord with the constitution. The motion calling for redundancy is a necessary response to the synagogue’s deep financial difficulties.”

He added that, if the redundancy resolution was passed, the board had already offered to engage in a process of mediation with Rabbi Gutnick to resolve the terms of the redundancy.

The legal wrangling, however, appears to have divided congregants.

Alan Abrahams said he was “shocked and saddened” over the rabbi’s actions.

“I would have expected a religious man to understand the precarious financial position the shul finds itself in and do everything in his power to make sure it survives,” he said.

But others disagree.

“Rabbi Gutnick’s actions were necessary because an Orthodox shul has to do things according to Jewish law,” said long-standing member Daniel Lowinger.

“If the board thinks it has a case, it should be heard before a din Torah.”

NSW Rabbinical Council’s Rabbi Mendel Kastel has called on both parties to resolve the matter according to Jewish law.

“It’s a shame that the matter has disintegrated to this level,” he said. “If there’s a dispute, let’s handle it as Jews should. We don’t want to see another fight on the public scale.”