You Must Read Every Word of This Ruling That Grants Control of America's Oldest Synagogue to its Congregants
On Monday, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell handed down a 106-page ruling in a lawsuit between Congregation Jeshuat Israel, which prays at Touro Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in the U.S. in Newport, Rhode Island, and Shearith Israel, the oldest congregation in America and Touro’s trustee. The judge’s decision, writes Bloomberg’s Noah Feldman, “emphasizes the future over the past, refusing to treat Jewish spaces and objects as relics and instead making them into investments in the future.”
First, a bit of background. Last October, closing statements were made in a Providence courtroom in the case presided over by Justice McConnell who had yet to make a ruling on which of the two congregations was the rightful owner of rimonim estimated to be worth $7.4 million. Congregation Jeshuat Israel, which prays at Touro Synagogue, wanted to sell the bells citing financial issues. Shearith Israel objected, saying Jeshuat Israel had no right to sell the bells because they didn’t belong to them, and that it was a violation of religious beliefs. Shearith also wanted to evict the Rhode Island congregation from Touro, a building that’s more than 250 years old. It was all a bit messy, and it has taken a while for the judge, who at the time said there was “no smoking gun,” to make a ruling.