Hasids Ousted From Quebec Summer Homes Over Noise And Sloppiness
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
MONTREAL (JTA) — A Quebec court ordered a group of Hasidic Jews to leave their summer homes by the end of the month because they are too noisy and slovenly.
The Quebec Superior Court ruled that the approximately 50 Hasidim living in the town of Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, 60 miles north of Montreal, must leave by July 26 following complaints from the town that they hold rowdy gatherings till 2 a.m., treat their properties like garbage dumps, and use their residences as synagogues and religious schools, which is contrary to zoning laws.
“The buildings are not well-maintained,” Deputy Mayor Jean-Léo Legault said, and “are not supposed to be used for that purpose.”
Ste-Agathe Mayor Denis Chalifoux in interviews with the local media dismissed any notion, as a few of the Hasidim have alleged, that anti-Semitism was behind their eviction, saying that Jews and non-Jews have lived “harmoniously” in Ste-Agathe for a century and the town has a large Jewish population.
Complaints about the group date back to 2015.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
