Jewish Camp Owners Sue Health Dept., Say They’re Targeted For Inspections
Image by iStock
The owners of a Jewish summer camp in New York have sued the Rockland County Health Department for discriminating against their business because they are ultra-Orthodox Jews, The Journal News reported.
The lawsuit, filed by camp owners Ephraim and Rivka Weissmandl, also includes a complaint accusing an agency inspector of making sexual comments toward her. They are seeking $25 million in relief and legal costs.
The county denied the allegations.
The lawsuit claims that the health department conducted random inspections on the boys camp run by the Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov, issuing violations that reached thousands of dollars.
The department typically inspects camps before the summer season, according to the Journal.
The couple said inspectors often threatened them with closure in a discriminatory manner.
The lawsuit also asserts that a county employee sexually harassed Rivka Weissmandl in 2011. Noted as “Andy,” he is said to have said, “if only she was younger and not married,” and asked her “such a good body after so many kids.” He also told her to “spin around for him” and asked for her phone number.
Ephraim and Rivka Weissmandl have been in the camp business since 1998, according to the Journal. They’ve run two camps in Rockland since 2003.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
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.
