Synagogue expansion fight gets ugly

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

A neighborhood squabble over the proposed expansion of a synagogue in Tiburon has turned into a high-stakes battle over religious freedom.

The issue is whether Congregation Kol Shofar, the only Jewish place of worship in the wealthy Marin County community, can build two new wings onto its existing facility to serve a growing congregation, against the wishes of most people who live in the surrounding neighborhood.

The dispute has become so hostile that it has created a spiritual challenge for many Jews, whose religion commands them to "love thy neighbor." The congregation is expected to clash with those neighbors Tuesday in what many expect to be a raucous public hearing in front of the Tiburon Town Council.

"Over 200 households have signed petitions," said Karen Nygren of the Tiburon Neighborhood Coalition, a group formed to fight Kol Shofar's plans. "It's not just a little group that is against this. We feel this is purely a land-use issue. It has nothing to do with religion."

That is not how representatives of Kol Shofar see it. Earlier this month, they enlisted help from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a national legal foundation that fights for religious freedom. Lawyers for the organization are threatening to file a lawsuit against the town of Tiburon under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 if the expansion plans are not approved.

The modern day liberal has a twofer here: hostility against property rights and religion.Marin county sure hates individualism