Judge: Congregants can take control of oldest US synagogue

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The congregation that worships at the nation's oldest synagogue prevailed Monday in a bitter legal fight that threatened its existence, as a federal judge ruled it may now control its own destiny and decide what to do with a set of ceremonial bells worth millions.

U.S. District Judge Jack McConnell on Monday awarded Congregation Jeshuat Israel, of Newport, control of Touro, rejecting arguments from Congregation Shearith Israel that it is the synagogue's rightful owner.

"The effort to evict the Rhode Island congregation has been thwarted, and an important piece of American history and of Jewish history has been preserved," he said.

The judge, who held a nine-day trial last year, said the guiding light behind his decision was the intention of the community that established the synagogue in 1763.

"The central issue here is the legacy of some of the earliest Jewish settlers in North America, who desired to make Newport a permanent haven for public Jewish worship," he wrote.

In 1790, George Washington visited Touro and then sent congregants a letter saying the government of the United States "gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance."