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-Great Cultural Revolution
US court says it won’t stop ‘Jewish Power Corrupts’ protests outside synagogue
2021-09-18
[IsraelTimes] Pro-Paleostinian protests have occurred on weekly basis near Michigan house of worship since 2003; congregation says demonstrations interfere with worship, cause emotional distress
Weekly for 18 years? That sounds like harassment to me — after the first year or two the message was most surely received by all interested parties, and most of the uninterested as well.
Provocative pro-Paleostinian protests outside a Jewish synagogue in Michigan are protected by the Constitution’s First Amendment, a federal court appeals said on Wednesday.

The court declined to stop the demonstrations or set restrictions in Ann Arbor. The protests have occurred on a weekly basis since 2003, with people holding signs that say "Jewish Power Corrupts," "Stop Funding Israel" and "End the Paleostinian Holocaust."

Members of Beth Israel Congregation, including some Holocaust survivors, said that the protests have interfered with their Saturday worship and caused emotional distress.

"But the congregants have not alleged that the protesters ever blocked them from using their synagogue or that the protests were even audible from inside the building," Judge Jeffrey Sutton said.

He said a proposed remedy — a 1,000-foot buffer and limits on signs — would likely violate the First Amendment.

"The key obstacle is the robust protections that the First Amendment affords to nonviolent mostly peaceful protests on matters of public concern," Sutton said in summarizing the case.

He was joined by Judge David McKeague. Judge Eric Clay agreed with the result but on different grounds.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief in support of the activists, saying that the protests are entitled to protection even if "offensive, upsetting and distasteful."

"If public officials and courts have discretion to suppress speech they don’t like, then none of us truly enjoys the freedom of speech," Dan Korobkin of the ACLU said.
Related:
Ann Arbor: 2021-04-06 Heavily-armed members of far-right militia Boogaloo Bois march on Michigan police station calling for release of man who 'shot at SWAT team' during 36-hour stand-off
Ann Arbor: 2020-11-10 Restaurant customers in Ann Arbor, Mich. give a black power salute as BLM protesters march
Ann Arbor: 2020-09-10 Expect Democrat Shenanigans, But Don't Panic
Posted by:trailing wife

#1  "But the congregants have not alleged that the protesters ever blocked them from using their synagogue or that the protests were even audible from inside the building," Judge Jeffrey Sutton said.

...but pro-lifers doing this outside a Planned Parenthood office?
Posted by: Procopius2k   2021-09-18 07:34  

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