Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

New Jersey Town Pulls Back From Bid To Ban Eruv

(JTA) — A New Jersey township has rescinded a proposed ordinance that would have prevented the construction of an eruv.

The Mahwah Township Council voted Thursday night to withdraw a measure that would have prohibited the posting on utility poles of “other matter,” which would include the white PVC pipes used to demarcate the artificial boundary. According to Jewish law, the eruv allows Jews to push and carry objects outside their homes on the Sabbath and holy days.

The council also repealed an ordinance to rescind a ban on non-state residents using the township’s parks. Instead it introduced an ordinance that would allow “residents and non-residents alike” to use township parks.

In October, the state sued Mahwah over the ordinances, which it says illegally targeted Jews. Another lawsuit was filed by the Eruv Association, which puts up and maintains the eruv, against the Bergen County town and nearby Upper Saddle River and Montvale for illegally “inhibiting Jews from practicing their religion.”

Township Attorney Brian Chewcaskie said at the meeting that legal counsel had recommended the Township Council rescind the ordinances as a “strategic move” in order to counter the lawsuit, according to northjersey.com. Council members were instructed not to comment on the vote or the lawsuit, according to the report.

Residents of Mahwah, which borders New York state, had expressed concern that the eruv would bring an influx of haredi Orthodox Jews to the community. They also claimed it would change the character of the township and its services.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.