Institute attorneys object to house of worship code

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - In filing an amended civil rights lawsuit in federal district court against Freehold Township, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute, in cooperation with attorney Gerald A. Marks, of Red Bank, are claiming that a municipal ordinance's broad and vague description of a place of worship will cause a chilling effect on persons who desire to hold gatherings of a religious nature in their homes.

According to a press release from The Rutherford Institute, the amended complaint broadens the lawsuit filed by institute attorneys in August 2007 on behalf of Rabbi Avraham Bernstein, who resides on Stillwells Corner Road.

The Rutherford Institute, Charlottesville, Va., is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights, according to the press release.

Bernstein's lawsuit against Freehold Township centers on what he states is his right to use his home for religious services. His attorney has accused municipal officials of impeding residents' right to freely exercise their religious beliefs by worshipping in their homes.

A amended ordinance adopted by the Township Committee on Sept. 25 defines "any structure or building that is used as the regular site for traditional services, meetings and/or gatherings of an organized religious body or community" as a "church or place of worship," according to the press release.

"People of all faiths should be outraged over this latest effort by government officials to dictate what religious believers can and cannot do in the privacy of their own homes," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute.

In keeping with religious tradition, Bernstein, a cleric in the worldwide Jewish organization Chabad Lubavitch, welcomes family, friends and neighbors to his home each Friday to observe the Sabbath, as well as other Jewish holidays.

Bernstein, his wife and eight children live in a single-family home in a residential zone that is directly across from the Freehold Township municipal building. During the Sabbath and on certain prescribed holidays, Bernstein and his guests perform prayers and services in accordance with Orthodox Jewish law, which requires the presence of 10 men or a minyan to read from the Torah and recite other prayers. The prayer services take place in the Bernsteins' living room.

In February the township notified Bernstein that the religious gatherings in his home violated local zoning ordinances and subsequently issued a summons charging the rabbi with illegally operating a "house of worship."

Believing that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects his right to worship at home, Bernstein filed a lawsuit in New Jersey state court challenging the township's use of its zoning powers, according to the press release.

A subsequent lawsuit filed in August accused the township of conducting video surveillance of the rabbi's home, purportedly to monitor and record the comings and goings of individuals who gather there for observances of the Sabbath and other religious holidays, The Rutherford Institute said.

The township attorney has said the video monitoring of Bernstein's home was employed to come up with an accurate count of how many people were attending services at the residence.

All of the litigation remains open at this time.