By: Marcy Oster – Jewish Telegraphic Agency; jta.org
Anti-Israel protests outside of a synagogue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, are protected by the First Amendment and may continue, a federal judge ruled.
“Peaceful protest speech such as this – on sidewalks and streets – is entitled to the highest level of constitutional protection, even if it disturbs, is offensive, and causes emotional distress,” U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts of the Eastern Michigan District Court wrote last week in dismissing a lawsuit that sought to stop the protesters, the Ann Arbor News reported.
The protests outside of Beth Israel Congregation have been held weekly at the same time as Saturday morning services for nearly two decades, since 2003. The handful of protesters who show up plant signs on the grass that read “Resist Jewish Power,” “Jewish Power Corrupts,” “No More Holocaust Movies,” “Boycott Israel,” “Stop U.S. Aid to Israel” and “End the Palestinian holocaust.”