The suburban Council of North York voted today six to three to permit the sale of two township lots for the building of a synagogue after a noisy public hearing in which many of the township’s Jews opposed the transaction. The council’s two Jewish members were among the three casting negative votes.
The Shaarei Shomayim congregation, seeking to relocate from Toronto to North York, where half of Metropolitan Toronto’s 90, 000 Jews how live, applied for purchase of the two remaining land parcels needed to complete arrangements for a new synagogue building. More than 100 residents of the affected area appeared at a council meeting to announce opposition to the sale. The foes contended that the presence of the synagogue would create a traffic hazard, parking problems and general congestion.
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.
