An order by a Norfolk traffic court judge to a Queens rabbi to take off his yarmulke stirred widespread protests against Judge Vernon Hitchings from local political and Jewish officials.
When Rabbi Joshua Sackett walked into the traffic court last week to challenge a traffic ticket, the judge said “I don’t care what your religion is, no one wears a hat in my courtroom.” The 24-year-old Queens Village rabbi complied but said later “If I had to do it again, I would have kept my yarmulke on. I am disappointed by my action. My people have withstood much harsher pressure than one judge.”
Norman Olshansky, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, called the judge’s order “an affront to all the citizens of Virginia and to the Jewish community in particular.”He said the ADL executive board would consider possible legal action.
Hitchings said he could not understand why people were making such a fuss over the incident. He said he ordered Sackett to remove his skullcap because “a man does not practice his religion in the courtroom.” He added that if he had known Sackett was a rabbi, “I might have made an exception.” Sackett said he told Hitchings he was an Orthodox rabbi.
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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.
