Hasids Ousted From Quebec Summer Homes Over Noise And Sloppiness
MONTREAL (JTA) — A Quebec court ordered a group of Hasidic Jews to leave their summer homes by the end of the month because they are too noisy and slovenly.
The Quebec Superior Court ruled that the approximately 50 Hasidim living in the town of Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, 60 miles north of Montreal, must leave by July 26 following complaints from the town that they hold rowdy gatherings till 2 a.m., treat their properties like garbage dumps, and use their residences as synagogues and religious schools, which is contrary to zoning laws.
“The buildings are not well-maintained,” Deputy Mayor Jean-Léo Legault said, and “are not supposed to be used for that purpose.”
Ste-Agathe Mayor Denis Chalifoux in interviews with the local media dismissed any notion, as a few of the Hasidim have alleged, that anti-Semitism was behind their eviction, saying that Jews and non-Jews have lived “harmoniously” in Ste-Agathe for a century and the town has a large Jewish population.
Complaints about the group date back to 2015.
A message from our CEO & publisher 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.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO