And now another religion under attack. In Connecticutt, a condominium owner has been told by the complex’s management association that she must remove a Jewish religious symbol or face fines. Barbara Cadranel, an internationally-renown harpsichordist living in Stratford, Conn., contacted the Connecticut Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League earlier this month to report that she had been told by the California Condo Association to remove the mezuzah which is a small object inscribed with Hebrew verses from the Torah placed on the doorpost of a Jewish family’s home — or face fines of $50 per day.
ADL’s Connecticut Regional Director Gary Jones said, “It’s pretty rare,” Jones said of disputes between condominium association and owners involving mezuzot. “The obligation to place a mezuzah on the doorframe or doorpost is a right in the Bible. Jewish people everywhere, including those in condominiums, post a mezuzah as a reminder of their religious obligations.” Fox News
Cadranel, 60, who could not be reached by FoxNews.com for comment Friday, has retained Nathan and Alyza Lewin of Lewin & Lewin, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that has notified the condominium association that its actions are in violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act. Last fall, Cadranel receive the mezuzah as a gift. She now feels violated for being told to remove it.
Cadranel travels the world playing harpsichord and other classical instruments, travels so often that she doesn’t have a real home.
“It’s not a decorative choice, or a choice at all when a condo association or anyone says that a mezuzah can’t be put on a doorpost or doorframe. Basically, they are telling the Jewish person that he or she cannot live there.” Fox News
According to an agreement with its condo owners, the display of items like Christmas wreaths and crosses on doors is allowed, but the display of other items such as mezuzah on doorposts is not, the Jewish Ledger reports. The association’s attorney has said that Cadranel was well aware of the bylaws when she purchased the unit on Aug. 31, 2010.
“The declaration expressly prohibits unit owners from hanging or displaying anything on the outside windows or outside walls of any building, and also prohibits any sign from being affixed to or placed upon the exterior walls … without prior consent of the association’s board of directors,” attorney Kurt Ahlberg, said in a March 21 response.
