CINCINNATI (CN) — An appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that weekly protests on the sidewalks outside a Michigan synagogue are constitutionally protected speech because they deal with matters of public concern.
The Sixth Circuit decision affirmed a federal judge's dismissal of various constitutional and state-law claims brought by members of Ann Arbor's Beth Israel Synagogue, who claim anti-Israeli protests have inflicted extreme emotional distress on the Jewish community.
Protesters have gathered outside the synagogue every Saturday since September 2003, and often carry signs with anti-Semitic messages that have included "Jewish Power Corrupts," "Resist Jewish Power," and "No More Wars for Israel."
Two members of the congregation, including Holocaust survivor Miriam Brysk, sued the protesters and the city of Ann Arbor in 2019, but to no avail.
U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts, a Bill Clinton appointee, dismissed the suit in its entirety and determined the plaintiffs had not alleged an injury that would grant them standing to pursue constitutional claims.