Posted on 05/10/2012 12:22:39 PM PDT by olcurmudgeon
The AP reports that a trial is set to begin in the case of a Connecticut Jewish woman who sued her congregation because a black woman had been buried in the interfaith section of their cemetery.
Maria Balaban’s lawsuit will go to trial Tuesday in New London Superior Court. She is demanding that the remains of Jamaica-born Juliet Steer be exhumed and removed from Congregation Ahavath Achim’s cemetery in Colchester.
The 73-year-old Balaban argues that the congregation broke the rule against burying gentiles in a Jewish cemetery when it allowed Steer’s burial in an interfaith section of the cemetery in 2010.
The congregation’s lawyer called the lawsuit is frivolous and said the only reason Balaban is suing is because Steer was black. Balaban said her motives are not racist.
What does “interfaith” section mean? I would interpret that to mean that those in that section were not Jews. Or, not only Jews. ?
I see. Because she objects to a gentile being buried in a Jewish cemetery, she must be a racist. Then, anyone protesting the burying a Hassid in a Catholic cemetery must be anti-Semitic, nu?
Oy, a Goy!
***...the only reason Balaban is suing is because Steer was black.***
The last time I heard anyone complain about the burial of a black person in a cemetery was 50 years ago!
Good grief..dead is dead. How can this even be offensive!
Interfaith cemeteries are the produce of the high rate of Jew/Gentile marriages and allow for spouses/family members of different religions to be buried next to each other. This was their intended purpose.
This fits right in with the Trayvon Fluke narrative being promoted by Obama’s fans. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was staged by liberals to add to the sense of racial tension and help the Dems win in November.
Here’s a nettlesome theological question (about which I have no opinion) but can the dead be said to have a religion? It would seem to this uninformed person that, once dead, the matter would no longer be a matter of opinion any longer.
Seems to me that "interfaith" is the key word here.If a Jewish cemetery is officially divided into "Jewish only" and "interfaith" it seems as if they expect at least some non-Jewish people to be buried there.I hope that anyone who's familiar with Jewish law will set me straight if I'm wrong here.
Of course the dead have a religion.
They’re all Mormons, having been baptized after death.
“it seems as if they expect at least some non-Jewish people to be buried there.I hope that anyone who’s familiar with Jewish law will set me straight if I’m wrong here.”
No, you are exactly correct. For example, my sister married a man who converted to Orthodox Judaism. He’d like his mother (who was Roman Catholic) buried by him, which is not exactly “kosher,” even if very understandable.
If I was to guess, the cemetary was supposed to be a Jewish only cemetary, and some later congregation created this “inter-faith” area, which violates all sorts of things.
The real question is why a government court would be involved in a wholly ecclesiastical dispute in the first place.
Stupid woman probably thought it meant Orthodox AND Reform
From other articles, the interfaith section came into being 15 years ago after a merger with another cemetary group, but it’s unclear if one has been actually been designated. The problem with this individual seems to be that she has no connection with the Synagogue at all, nor any familial connection. Apparently she or her family thought it was a nice place to be buried and bought a plot. How that happened would seem to be the issue.
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