Recently,
a condo association in Connecticut ordered Barbara Cadranel to take down her
mezuzah from her doorpost arguing that it violated the condo by-laws. A mezuzah is “a prayer scroll in a small
clear plastic case” that is attached to a doorpost of a Jewish home in
accordance with Jewish law. According to
the condo’s by-laws, decorations are allowed on doors—which are considered the
condo owner’s property—but not on doorposts—which are considered common
area. The condo association told
Cadranel that she must take down the mezuzah or be charged $50 a day that it
remains up. In this article, it does not
state the reason it is against the by-laws to have the mezuzah on the
doorpost. However, the article is framed
in a way to make it appear that the reason the mezuzah is not allowed is
because it is a religious symbol. It
states “video from inside the complex showed several common areas adorned with
Easter eggs and other Easter decorations.”
The only comment from the condo association is that only Cadranel’s side
of the story is being told, but the condo association would not explain their
side. The Anti-Defamation League has
agreed to help Cadranel during this situation.
An example of a mezuzah on a doorpost
As
I stated previously, it is not clear if the issue at hand is because the
mezuzah is a religious symbol, or because there is a rule not allowing anything on doorposts (possibly for fire
safety concerns?). If the issue is
because the mezuzah is a Jewish symbol, then no other religious symbols (such
as Easter decorations) should be allowed in common areas and Cadranel has a
fair complaint against the condo association.
However, if the reasoning for not allowing anything on doorposts is a
safety concern, then possibly the law hinders religion because hanging a
mezuzah is part of Jewish law. Should
exceptions be made for the mezuzah in this condo complex? The problem there then arises is when do
religious exceptions become preference to religion?
Should
this issue end up in court, I do not think I would be able to predict the
outcome of the case. On one hand, the
by-law was likely not written with religion in mind and was likely made for
safety reasons. The law is neutral in
that nothing is allowed on doorposts. However, as far as I know, only the Jewish
faith requires their members to put a
symbol on their doorpost. As such, even
if the rule was written neutrally, the only people that will be concerned about
the law are members of the Jewish faith.
The law unintentionally infringes on their practice. As well, the doorpost is considered a common
area and it appears that the issue is that residents are not allowed to hang
decorative items in the common area. If
this is the case, then charging Cadranel the $50 a day and not the other
residents that placed Easter decorations in the common area is privileging one
religion over another. Charging Cadranel
and not the others hinders Cadranel’s free exercise of her religion. Ultimately, I believe Cadranel should be able
to hang the mezuzah on her doorpost and an exception should be made in the
by-laws because hanging the mezuzah is not a choice but in accordance to Jewish
law. Otherwise Candranel could easily
make the case for the condo association preventing her from practicing her
religion.
