New RI Law Prohibits Condo Associations, Landlords from Restricting Mezuzahs on Doors

A new Rhode Island law prohibits landlords or condo associations from restricting Jewish residents from hanging a mezuzah on their doorways.

The Torah instructs all Jewish people to affix a mezuzah on their doorposts, outside the door or in the door frame. A mezuzah is a piece of parchment carrying the prayer Shema Yisrael in Hebrew and it usually is rolled and stored in a small case.

Some observant Jews see hanging the mezuzah as a requirement, not an option, said Rep. Aaron Regunberg (D-Dist. 4, Providence), the bill’s prime sponsor in the House of Representatives.

“For a condo association or a landlord to prohibit them is tantamount to housing discrimination,” he said. “It would force Jewish people to either look elsewhere for housing or violate their own religious beliefs.”

Similar laws that prohibit restricted mezuzot were passed in four other states and several took action after lawsuits involving residents ordered to remove a mezuzah.

There have been no legal cases filed in Rhode Island, but that doesn’t mean the issue hasn’t affected Jewish people. Rabbi Barry Dolinger of Congregation Beth Sholom in Providence testified during hearings on the bill that he has intervened on behalf of condo owners many times when they’ve met resistance from their condo associations about the mezuzah. The Community Relations Council of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island sought the legislation this year to spare Jews from facing problems in the future.

The bill’s prime sponsor in the Senate, Sen. John Miller (D-Dist. 28, Cranston, Providence), said with the new law, “we’re making sure that no Rhode Islander will be hassled for tacking a small, unobtrusive religious symbol on the side of their doorway.”

The bill’s sponsor and several co-sponsors and Jewish community leaders gathered for a signing ceremony on Tuesday.

Cosponsors of the legislation include Sen. Gayle L. Goldin (D-Dist. 3, Providence), Rep. Mia A. Ackerman (D-Dist. 45, Cumberland, Lincoln) and Rep. Edith H. Ajello (D-Dist. 1, Providence).

“This legislation allows condominium owners and dwellers living in an apartment the right to attach a religious article on the exterior of a doorway such as a mezuzah that is mandated by their faith. Prior to this legislation, a condominium association could prohibit such articles to be displayed if so written in their bylaws. The same was true with apartment property management,” said Marty Cooper, director of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.