Has no Jurisdiction over Purely Religious Matter, Judge Says (Jewish Daily Bulletin)
A ruling by Chief Justice Powell of the Court of Common Pleas ended the celebrated Cleveland Jewish Center case, which attracted wide attention throughout the United States and abroad.
Upon the motion of Mr. Matthews, representing Rabbi Solomon Goldman and the Cleveland Jewish Center Board, the case was thrown out of court when the Chief Justice declared the civil court to be out of jurisdiction in a purely religious matter.
The case, which was considered to be a test case bringing to a head the friction obtainging in many congregations throughout the country between the Orthodox and the Conservative elements in the modern congregations, has been pending for the last three years. The suit was initiated by a committee of Orthodox members of the Jewish Center, including A. A. Katz, A. A. Lifkowitz, M. Sobel and J. Scheinbart. The Jewish Center was built by the Congregation Ansche Emeth Beth Tephilah. The Orthodox Committee bought the suit against Rabbi Goldman and the Board of Directors for deviating from the constitution of the congregation, providing that it must adhere to the Orthodox ritual as long as ten members insist on it.
In preparing for the case, Walter J. Hamilton, reprsenting the plaintiffs, presided over the taking of depositions in New York from witnesses called by both parties to determine what is Orthodoxy. Mr. Matthews, also a non-Jew, represented the defendants. Israel Gombrow of Baltimore represented the Union of Orthodox Congregations.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
