MAY 6 • 2021 | 23

of worshippers and inter-re-
ligious families,
” she explains. 
“Rabbi Zerwekh is also very 
committed to inclusion and 
social action.
”

UPDATED SANCTUARY
In addition to housing JGN, 
Temple Emanu-El is also focus-
ing on revamping its own home 
by remodeling its sanctuary. “We 

brought our sanctuary more in 
line with how we pray,
” Zerwekh 
says. 
 The first step was to replace 
some of the fixed pews with 
movable seating, which allows 
for a bigger variety of prayer 
arrangements. Though the 
temple has been closed due to 
COVID-19, Zerwekh says that 
members who tune in for broad-

casts have appreciated the new 
design.
Temple Emanu-El also 
upgraded every light to LED 
and removed the wooden doors 
from its ark, which allows for a 
better view of their handmade 
Torah covers. 
“Members of the temple 
created them for our Torahs,
” 
Zerwekh explains. Now, the 
ark has frosted glass doors with 
some of the artwork that was 
on the old doors etched into the 
new, a bridge between past and 
present.
“You can see the beautiful his-
tory that’s in the ark,
” Zerwekh 
continues. “It helps to bring a 
little bit of additional light into 
the space.
”
With so many efforts in the 
works, Temple Emanu-El hopes 

to establish itself as a model in 
supporting the larger communi-
ty in their efforts to engage with 
Judaism, regardless of through 
a Reform lens or unaffiliated 
lens. “That’s how the world is 
right now,
” Zerwekh says. “Folks 
in their 20s and 30s are going 
directly to where the energizing 
Jewish content is.
”
The temple wants to make 
itself a presence for anyone 
interested in positively influenc-
ing the world. “We’re making it 
clear that we are there to support 
Jewish learning and engage-
ment,
” Zerwekh explains. 
“We’re occupying a space to 
give people a chance to engage 
with Judaism in an unaffiliated 
way, but we’re also a presence for 
when they find the need for a 
congregation family.
” 

The updated 
ark with views 
of the Torah 
scrolls

M

embers of Ann 
Arbor’s Beth Israel 
Congregation were 
in court this week arguing for 
more enforcement to prevent 
the weekly anti-Israel protests 
that have greeted worshipers 
arriving for Shabbat services 
at the Conservative synagogue 
since September 2003.
Appearing before a three-
judge panel of the U.S. Sixth 
Circuit Court of Appeals in 
Cincinnati on April 27, mem-
bers of the synagogue sought 
to re-establish claims against 
the city of Ann Arbor and the 
group of protesters who have 
demonstrated near its entrance 
every Saturday morning for 
nearly two decades.
The protesters have held signs 
with messages including “Jewish 
Power Corrupts” and “Resist 
Jewish Power.
”
The original December 2019 

lawsuit was filed by Marvin 
Gerber, a Beth Israel member. 
Dr. Miriam Brysk, a Holocaust 
survivor and member of Pardes 
Hannah Congregation, which is 
located in an annex next to Beth 
Israel, is a part of the lawsuit as 
a co-plaintiff.
The suit argued that the pro-
testers violated several federal 
statutes which make it unlawful 
for private citizens to engage 
in conduct, including speech, 
which targets particular indi-
viduals based on their race or 
ethnicity. The suit separately 
alleged that the city of Ann 
Arbor aided and abetted the 
protesters by failing to enforce 
the prohibitions in its sign ordi-
nance.
They have now appealed the 
decision of U.S. District Judge 
Victoria Roberts in August 2020 
to dismiss calls for the protests 
to be curbed. Roberts dismissed 

the claims on the grounds that 
the plaintiffs did not prove 
they suffered concrete injury 
as a result of the protests. In 
response, the plaintiff’s counsel 
filed a motion for reconsider-
ation, which was denied as well.
“Indeed, the First 
Amendment more than protects 
the expressions by defendants 
of what plaintiffs describe as 
‘anti-Israeli, anti-Zionist, and 
antisemitic,
’” Roberts wrote in 
her opinion. “Peaceful protest 
such as this — on sidewalks 
and streets — is entitled to the 
highest level of constitutional 
protection, even if it disturbs, is 
offensive and causes emotional 
distress.
”
In their appeal to the Sixth 
Circuit, Gerber and Brysk 
argued Roberts misinterpret-

ed the scope of the relief they 
requested, which they claim 
involved only “the imposition of 
reasonable time, place and man-
ner conditions” on the protests. 
They accused the district 
court of ignoring several syna-
gogue members who attested to 
the emotional distress caused by 
the protesters’ signs and said the 
distress constitutes an “intan-
gible injury” that grants them 
standing.
Marc Susselman, the plain-
tiff’s lead counsel, and Ziporah 
Reich, co-counsel to the plain-
tiffs, hope the appeal process 
signifies them making headway. 
“We got a chance to flesh 
out our arguments more,
” 
Susselman said. 
At this point, the counsel 
believes the key to making 
further headway is whether the 
appeal panel gives the thumbs 
up on there being standing for 
emotional distress as a concrete 
injury and the imposition of 
reasonable time, place and 
manner conditions for the 
protests.
No timetable has yet been set 
for the court’s final decision. 

Ann Arbor Shul
Appeals Ruling

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

ALEX SHERMAN

A protestor’s 
sign 
outside the 
synagogue.

