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Article
Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By AMY
SHERMAN
Published April 6, 2007
When Laurie Richter moved into her Fort
Lauderdale condo in December, she attached a small rectangular box to the
frame of her door.
The Jewish artifact -- a mezuzah -- became
famous internationally when Richter's condo association ordered her to
remove it, and she fought back.
| She won her right to keep
the mezuzah, and is waiting for confirmation that her
victory will extend to the entire condo, a swanky new
development overlooking the ocean.
''I figured it was going to be OK in
light of the fact that there were wreaths hung all over the
building when I moved in,'' Richter, a 28-year-old attorney
at Adorno & Yoss in Fort Lauderdale, said Thursday.
Richter's case prompted Florida
Attorney General Bill McCollum to get involved and the U.S.
attorney also has an inquiry under way.
''I got phone calls from all different
countries,'' said Richter, who lives with her boyfriend,
Jonas Spector.
Jews attach mezuzot -- small cases
containing prayers written on a scroll -- to the door frame
of a room, building or home. ''It's a very public
affirmation of Jewish identity,'' said Rabbi Lewis Littman
of Temple Bat Yam in Fort Lauderdale. "It's supposed to
remind us as we enter and leave our homes as to the way we
are supposed to live . . . by the ways of Torah.''
But in January, a manager at
Port Condominium ordered Richter to remove her beige and
green mezuzah or face a fine of up to $1,000.
The condo association argued
in letters that it has no |
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Laurie
Richter fought her condo's request to remove her mezuzah, a small
box that is traditionally attached to door frames and holds scrolls
of Jewish prayers.
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problem
with mezuzot generally, but that condo owners must seek permission before
putting them up. It cited a rule forbidding residents from making
additions to the exterior of common property without prior written
consent.
Richter, who rents her unit, wasn't buying it.
''Clearly, the Rules and Regulations of the Port
Condominium could not have intended to interfere with people practicing
their religion,'' she wrote in a letter to the association.
By trying to prevent Richter from displaying a
mezuzah, the association violated the federal Fair Housing Act and the 14th
Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits religious discrimination, said
Randy Berg, director of the Florida Justice Institute in Miami who has
represented Richter for free.
The attorney general demanded in a letter to the condo
association last month that Richter be allowed to keep her mezuzah, and that
all owners and tenants have the same right.
Allison Bethel, the attorney general's civil rights
director, told the association to post a notice in a common location "Advising
that Mezuzahs may be displayed in accordance with Jewish tradition.''
Attorney general spokeswoman Sandi Copes said Bethel
will determine if the association has complied with her office's requests.
Condo managers couldn't be reached for comment
Thursday, but in a Monday letter to Bethel, the association argues that all
the fuss is unnecessary.
The letter from general manager Keith Mullarkey said,
''Prior to all the media hype and attention Ms. Richter brought to the Port
Condominium, she was told that all she needed to do to display the mezuzah
was to follow the condo docs. . . . She was well aware of how to get
approval.'' In fact, the board did grant a request by one unit owner to
display a mezuzah, Mullarkey wrote.
State Rep. Julio Robaina, a Miami Republican, has
sponsored a bill that includes a provision to ensure residents can post a
mezuzah.
The language states: "No association may prohibit
the attachment of religious items at the door or at the entrance of a unit.
The board may adopt reasonable size restrictions for such items.''
Richter says she never sought money -- she only wanted
an apology and a right to keep her mezuzah.
''It's become so draining,'' she said. "This
could have been resolved so easily.''
U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta said his Fort Lauderdale
office is looking into the matter.
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