New Jersey town forced to pay nearly $200,000 after being found guilty of discriminating against Orthodox Jews

Jackson Township, New Jersey, has settled a lawsuit after officials in the town used zoning codes to ensure that Orthodox Jews could not settle there, forcing many to leave and stopping others from moving in.

This issue dates back to 2015 when some Jackson Township residents objected to Orthodox Jews living near them. One resident took to social media to say that “We need to get rid of them like Hitler did,” while another said that Jews were “filthy f**king cockroaches”.

Later, the local councils passed laws to ensure that private schools were limited to just three areas, preventing the construction of dormitories, and making sure that no new yeshivas (Jewish religious schools), sukkahs (temporary structures built during the festival of Sukkot), or eruvim (boundaries that allow some activities during the Jewish sabbath) could be established.

Following the lawsuit that was filed by the federal Department of Justice, Jackson Township now has to pay a $45,000 fine for its policies, which will be reviewed directly by the Justice Department for three years to ensure any changes to the zoning code are made known to the government, and $150,000 compensation to the victims, while ensuring it complies with all relevant laws associated with fairness in housing distribution and religious land use.

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