Hollywood, FL - Commissioner Urges, Settle Synagogue Suit

Hollywood, FL - A city commissioner is urging his colleagues to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by an Orthodox Jewish synagogue after the city yanked its permit.

Commissioner Keith Wasserstrom sent an e-mail calling for a special meeting to discuss settling the case with the Hollywood Community Synagogue and the U.S. Department of Justice.

No meeting had been scheduled as of yet. The trial is scheduled to start June 26.

In the e-mail, Wasserstrom said he fears that a pending ruling by a federal judge will erase city laws that grant special permits to religious groups that operate in residential neighborhoods. The permits are at the center of the lawsuit, which alleges that the city, led by Commissioner Sal Oliveri, discriminated when it took away the synagogues' permit in 2003. City officials argue that they pulled the permit because the synagogue did not adhere to zoning codes.