Hasidim to challenge place of worship bylaw

Montreal vote may contravene Charter rights

MONTREAL • Supporters of a bylaw that will prevent new synagogues from opening in the borough of Outremont were jubilant after referendum voters approved the rules Sunday.

“What an incredible victory for democracy — as a city, as a community, we should be proud,” the Yes side wrote on its web page.

The majority did speak — 56 per cent in favour — but a constitutional lawyer who has represented Outremont’s Hasidic Jewish community said that does not mean the outcome was democratic. And pride may not be the most appropriate response to a measure that has deepened the divide between the area’s Jewish and non-Jewish residents.

“Majorities don’t matter if a Charter issue is involved,” Julius Grey said Monday. “Western liberal democracy does not only mean majority rule. It also means respecting basic rights.”

In this case, Outremont’s Hasidim say their freedom of worship is at stake. The bylaw does not identify any religion; it simply says that new “places of worship” will no longer be allowed on the only commercial streets where they had been permitted.

It is no secret that borough politicians had Outremont’s rapidly growing ultra-Orthodox Hasidim — now about 25 per cent of the population — in their sights when they drafted the zoning change.

The rationale was that the shopping districts in the borough, long home to Montreal’s francophone bourgeoisie, are suffering; filling an empty storefront with a “place of worship” would further sap the streets’ vitality.

In an interview Monday with Radio-Canada, Mayor Marie Cinq-Mars acknowledged that there is more at stake than simply keeping the avenues bustling.

“We are always talking about living together, the desire on both sides to live together,” she said. “But what does living together mean? Is it two parallel societal projects? Is it not at all sharing common values?”

Eta Yudin, vice-president of the Quebec wing of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, called the referendum result disappointing.

“It’s not the first time Mayor Cinq-Mars has missed an opportunity to bring communities together rather than stoking the fires of division,” she said.

Two members of the Hasidic community, Alex Werzberger and Jacob Karmel, threatened a court challenge of the zoning change when it surfaced last year.

On Monday, Werzberger said he sees no other option.

“Whenever they start oppressing the Jews, they go after the synagogues,” he said. He fears that if the prohibition of synagogues is not overturned, “they will be emboldened” and pursue other measures aimed at driving out Hasidim.

Grey said municipalities are allowed to use zoning to dictate where places of worship can be located. But they must provide religious groups with “reasonable alternatives.” So far, the only site Outremont has offered is against railway tracks in the borough’s northeast corner.

“The location chosen would be difficult to access and would require a 20- to 30-minute walk for the majority of the faithful,” Grey wrote to Cinq-Mars last December. “As you are aware, observant Jews cannot use their cars on Saturday.” Hasidim walk along Bernard Street in Outremont last Wednesday before the referendum on places of worship.