Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb (1986)
- Docket
- 85-2156
- Decided
- 1986-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the white defendants exhibit racially motivated discrimination in violation of the federal statute? Conclusion: Yes. The Court unanimously ruled that Jews can state a claim of racial discrimination since they were among the peoples considered to be distinct races and hence within the protection of U.S.C. Section 1982. The statute "was intended to protect from discrimination identifiable classes of persons who are subjected to intentional discrimination solely because of their ancestry or ethnic characteristics." The Jewish people most certainly suffered such discrimination and so were not barred from their claim simply because both they, like the defendants, were Caucasian.