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Jewish Living In )\1"•:00
Court dismisses teacher's lawsuit against
Akiva Hebrew Day School.
an effort to force a resignation and
was in violation of his full tenure,
which Codish had been granted in
1993 and which calls for a severance
t was probably the only time the
package. Under Akiva's tenure policy,
nuances of Jewish theology have
tenured teachers are at-will employees
been aired in an Oakland
but are eligible for a severance package
County Circuit courtroom.
if not offered job contracts.
Immediately before dismissing for-
The judge dismissed the claim of
mer teacher Edward Codish's lawsuit
breach of contract, saying that Akiva's
against Akiva Hebrew Day School last
employment manual clearly states that
week, Judge Fred Mester asked the
a teacher offered a contract, even an
school's attorney Steven Z. Cohen to
abridged one, does not have the
define centrist Orthodoxy.
option of receiving a severance pack-
The judge's request was sympto-
age.
matic of a conflict that — while
Mester dismissed the allegation of
ostensibly about employment law —
was fueled by ideological tensions
age discrimination based on earlier
between Codish and Rabbi Karmi
higher-court rulings that found that
the state has no jurisdiction over dis-
Gross, who has been Akiva's principal
since fall of 1995.
crimination
Codish, who
claims made
taught high
against reli-
school English
gious institu-
and Judaic stud-
tions by
employees who
ies at Akiva for
teach religion
10 years, filed
within the
suit against the
institutions.
school in
Both prior
September 1997,
cases involved
alleging age dis-
lawsuits against
crimination and
the Roman
breach of con-
Catholic
tract. According
Diocese.
to Codish, Gross
Although he
removed him
acknowledged
from Judaic stud-
that it did not
ies classes and
bear directly
reduced his salary
upon the case,
after telling
Mester said
Codish he had
that part of the
"philosophical
reason he
differences" with
requested a
him and that
definition of
Codish was "too
centrist
old to change."
Orthodoxy was
The cutback left
Edward Codish lost h is case against Akiva
because Codish
Codish, who left
Hebrew Day School.
asserted that
Akiva on his own
Detroit lacks a
accord last month,
school that is sensitive to centrist
with half the classload.
Orthodoxy in a letter written to for-
Codish and his supporters say the
mer Jewish Federation of
school was annoyed that Codish was
Metropolitan Detroit President Mark
teaching less literal interpretations of
Schlussel. It was used as evidence by
Torah and encouraging critical think-
Akiva to illustrate that Codish had
ing.
philosophical differences with the
Codish and his attorney, Peter
school, which defines itself as centrist
Dodge, asserted that the cutback was
JULIE WIENER
StaffWriter
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