Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., June 26, 2008 Sivan 23, 5768 | | Israel Time: 18:29 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Howard Shapiro building an eruv on the boardwalk of Venice beach in Los Angeles.(AP) Glass ceiling for eruvs? By Shlomo Shamir Tags: eruv, Jewish World, New York  While the number of U.S. urban eruvs grow, the Westhampton eruv effort is meeting fierce local resistance. NEW YORK - Belonging to a synagogue, observing the laws of kashrut, even holding a Pesach Seder have lost their pride of place as the outright signs of religious affiliation in the American Jewish community. Lately, what typifies the ultra-Orthodox population, particularly the substrata of young couples who moved in recent years to small towns and suburbs, is the worrying and effort being put into establishing an eruv. Yes, eruv chatzerot, that ancient ruling by King Solomon and his court which turns private property and public property into one entity so that small items may be carried and baby carriages pushed on the Sabbath. Beverly Hills, California; Palm Beach and Coconut Grove, Florida; Newport, Rhode Island; Scottsdale, Arizona - these are some of the upscale residential areas where eruvs have been established in recent years. About a year ago, a small Orthodox community in California, Pacific Jewish Center, received permission to set up an eruv which today encompasses the Venice area and parts of Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, and Los Angeles. Advertisement The effort to set up eruvs in outlying towns and around suburbs reflects the spread of a particular sector within the ultra-Orthodox public in America: young people who made a fortune during the '90s boom years, and moved to classy areas that were once beyond the pale for Jews. "Once they used to fight for a ritual bath or school. Now the coveted objective for Orthodox families that have settled outside cities is establishing an eruv," says a community activist from Brooklyn. "It's also a reflection of economic independence." But the path to establishing an eruv can be more than a little bumpy. Plans to set up an eruv in Westhampton Beach, a village on the south shore of Long Island, New York - one of the ritziest zip-codes in America - unleashed a bitter feud between supporters of the local Orthodox synagogue's rabbi, Marc Schneier, and veteran non-Jewish locals who are leading the effort to prevent the eruv's establishment. "Is Westhampton Beach an Orthodox Jewish community? No. It's a secular, open village with a proud history of welcoming all faiths. The erection of an eruv will proclaim us as an Orthodox Jewish community for all time. Don't let it happen." This announcement appears at the top of a full-page advertisement which appeared last week in the local Southampton Press, which is distributed throughout the lovely Hamptons area, located 80 miles from sweltering Manhattan. An influx of wealthy vacationers with summer homes swell the area's population by 25,000 between July and Labor Day. It is widely estimated that half of these are Jews, and that most are Orthodox. The advertisement paid for by an organization named the Association for the Separation of Church and State, angered Jewish residents. "The content of the ad borders on anti-Semitic incitement," one local, Clint Greenbaum, told Haaretz. "This is the first time since I came to live in Westhampton Beach 14 years ago that I've felt offended because of a blatant display of hate based on my Jewish origins." Greenbaum says he does not observe Shabbat, but supports demarcating an eruv. "What's upsetting about the campaign against the eruv is that local figures are exploiting the fact that people don't know anything about eruv, and are getting them riled up that as a result of the eruv their lives would be restricted and the value of their homes would drop." Mayor Conrad Teller previously told reporters that all of the complaints against the planned eruv boil down to worries that it will attract too many Orthodox Jews to the area. More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   Bridging the gap A flashy addition to Jerusalem's entrance merges the old and the new. Two years later Captive soldiers' families lash out during ceremony marking Shalit's kidnapping.   1.   Ultra Orthodox?? 13:34  |  ERSB 22/06/08   2.   Ultra Orthodox?? 13:41  |  ERSB 22/06/08   3.   London Eruv 15:11  |  Motic 22/06/08   4.   London Eruv 15:16  |  Sherlock Holmes 22/06/08   5.   The veteran residents are right and this is no anti-Semitism 15:17  |  AA 22/06/08   6.   WHAT IS AN ERUV??? 15:20  |  Seymour Stern 22/06/08   7.   # 6 What is an eruv? 16:48  |  Joe 22/06/08   8.   Thanks, Joe... 17:11  |  Seymour Stern 22/06/08   9.   Eruvs are Stupid 17:37  |  MIKE 22/06/08   10.   re: what is an eruv 18:04  |  davidk 22/06/08   11.   typical zionist propaganda 19:31  |  potobac 22/06/08   12.   Fake Shabbath observance 20:01  |  David 22/06/08   13.   An entire tractate 20:59  |  Miransky 22/06/08   14.   To all the Wonderful Seculars 22:12  |  Yechiel Hagibor 22/06/08   15.   What you seculars are missing ... 23:51  |  Ben Azai 22/06/08   16.   Cluelessness of "David" and the reformed 00:18  |  Binyamin Dissen 23/06/08   17.   AA in jerusalem the secular try to keep the haredim out 00:23  |  Jerusalemite 23/06/08   18.   #9 Mike given that Eruv was invented by king Solomon... 00:27  |  A thinking Jew 23/06/08   19.   The logic of Eruv: Warning not for secularists. 00:33  |  A thinking Jew 23/06/08   20.   2,5 , 9,10, 11, 12 rant away as your numbers shrink 00:38  |  just a Jew 23/06/08   21.   David #12 05:35  |  fred 23/06/08   22.   Thinking Jew and King Solomom 06:57  |  MIKE 23/06/08   23.   mike, mockery and a quote 10:32  |  A thinking Jew 23/06/08   24.   Shlomo Get A Clue! 13:20  |  The Real Deal 23/06/08   25.   Thinking Jew and King Solomom - #2 16:49  |  MIKE 23/06/08   26.   Real deal, you are out of touch 18:23  |  Jewboy 23/06/08   27.   A definition of fanatic for Mike 18:28  |  Jewboy 23/06/08   28.   Mike and what changes 19:03  |  Joe Jew 23/06/08   29.   People Change - Joe Jew, Jewboy 20:48  |  MIKE 23/06/08   30.   To Fred re Eruv pilpul 21:35  |  David 23/06/08   31.   We`ve got one in DC. Does that make Washington "Orthodox"? 23:33  |  Raymond in DC 23/06/08   32.   David and dishonesty 23:39  |  Jerusalemite 23/06/08   33.   No Eruvs in the US 00:33  |  Will 24/06/08   34.   Mosque 01:09  |  Sam 24/06/08   35.   Per US law, municipalities cannot stop eruvs 03:20  |  Robert Gale 24/06/08   36.   eruv controversy 05:47  |  shammai 24/06/08   37.   - 07:13  |  fred 24/06/08   38.   eruv 07:41  |  John 24/06/08   39.   John and a link as to why we post on talkbacks 09:51  |  Shmirat halashon 24/06/08   40.   Why People Oppose Eruvs and the Orthodox Community 16:25  |  MIKE 24/06/08   41.   Mike thank you for the insight... 20:34  |  Joe Jew 24/06/08   42.   Mike part 2 20:39  |  Joe Jew 24/06/08   43.   Joe Jew - Parts 1 & 2 03:31  |  MIKE 25/06/08   44.   Joe Jew 07:07  |  MIKE 25/06/08   45.   Mike and likes 11:56  |  Joe Jew 25/06/08   46.   Joe Jew - god & religion 20:30  |  MIKE 25/06/08   47.   the best proof is experiential. 09:20  |  Joe Jew 26/06/08   48.   mike , the burden of proof comes from willingness to listen. 09:24  |  A thinking Jew 26/06/08   49.   Joe and Thinking Jews 18:25  |  MIKE 26/06/08

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