Brooklyn Hasidic Jews Plan Court Testing of Redistricting

A hearing has been set in federal district court in Brooklyn Monday on a suit by more than 100 Jewish organizations in the borough’s Williamsburg section seeking to stop implementation of new legislative and Congressional districts which the Jewish groups contend is unconstitutional and discriminatory. The suit was filed by the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, an umbrella group representing mainly Hasidic organizations, which charged that the new districts, approved by the State Legislature on May 29, discriminate against Jewish residents in favor of Blacks and Puerto Ricans.

Rabbi Nuchem Harfenes, director of the UJO, said the redistricting would cut the 45,000-member Orthodox Jewish population of the 57th Assembly District into groups of about 27,000 Jews in the new 57th District and 18,000 in the new 56th District. He said this would affect the political strength of the Jewish community which currently, though of the district is only 38 percent Jewish, effectively voices “the needs and goals” of the Hasidic Jews. Rabbi Harfenes said the state government “was probably under pressure from the Justice Department to give equal representation to Blacks and Puerto Ricans.”

Nathan Lewin, of Washington, a vice-president of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA) is representing the UJO in the suit. Although not acting in his capacity as a COLPA official, COLPA will be assisting him and probably will file a friend of the court brief in support of the lawsuit, according to Dennis Rapps, COLPA executive director. Rapps said the case “involves the rights of minorities to assert their political power. It is an attempt to penalize a particular minority group and give others power.” He added that the redistricting was “not directed against the Hasidim but its effect is to penalize them.”

The plaintiffs will seek at the hearing Monday a motion for a temporary restraining order and for assignment of a three-judge court to hear the case. Named as defendants were the Justice Department, the state government and the New York City Board of Elections. Rabbi Harfenes said that the Hasidim first learned of the redistricting plan on May 26, just before the start of Shavuot and could therefore take no protest action before the May 29 vote for redistricting in Albany.