Daniel Grand never expected any problems when he invited about a dozen friends over to pray at his suburban home in Cleveland, Ohio — just on Friday nights and twice on Saturday.
As a devout Orthodox Jew, he prays three times a day with at least nine other Jewish men.
But when he sent out an invitation to potential prayer-mates, it was immediately leaked to officials of his local University Heights City Council.
They banned the home prayer meetings in 2021 before they even began.
The city said he needed a special permit because “he was operating a religious place of assembly.”
CITY’S VINDICTIVE TREATMENT OF JEWISH MAN OVER HOME PRAYER
Mr. Grand withdrew his application because of opposition from his neighbours and a ruling that he and his family would not be able to live in their own home, if it had a permit.
Earlier this year, he asked the US Supreme Court to hear his case.
That’s because the city’s pressure on hIm had escalated into much more than a zoning complaint.
According to the brief filed on his behalf, city officials directed police to patrol his home; encouraged neighbours to lodge complaints; issued property violations; withheld his certificate of occupancy and tax abatements; and even stopped collecting his rubbish.
All this, just because he wanted to host a simple prayer group in his home.
“IT FELT LIKE CITIZENS WERE TARRING AND FEATHERING ME”
His lawyers from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and a private firm warned that if the nation’s highest court doesn’t hear Mr. Grand’s case, then the city’s mistreatment of his free speech and religious rights will be allowed to stand.
Back in 2021, a city meeting to discuss Mr. Grand’s request was attended by an unusually large crowd of more than 100 locals who vented their anti-Semitic concerns.
One neighbour wrote: “I am not Jewish, and I do not want our neighbourhood labeled as Jewish.”
Some community members said that if Mr. Grand didn’t like walking to his synagogue, he should have bought a house closer to it.
He said it felt like “citizens were tarring and feathering me.”
CITY COMMISSIONER QUESTIONED WHETHER PERMIT WAS NEEDED
Court documents also say at least one city planning commissioner questioned whether Mr. Grand needed a permit.
“I do not know why anyone would need a special use permit to [invite] 10 friends to pray with them Friday night and Saturday morning in their living room.”
“I also do not see how this would be different then my having friends over regularly for parties,” Commissioner Michael Fine told his colleagues.
Mr. Grand filed a lawsuit against the City of University Heights in 2022.
A federal court dismissed the case in 2024, finding that he had failed to fully exhaust his permit-appeal rights.
A Court of Appeals upheld that decision last year.
DANIEL GRAND’S CASE TO THE SUPREME COURT
In his brief to the Supreme Court, Mr. Grand and ADF argue the city clearly injured him even though he didn’t fully complete the permit process.
They claimed the city shouldn’t be able to require someone to seek a permit to pray in their home with friends.
The city can’t use zoning laws to target religion, said Nathan Moelker, an attorney at the American Center for Law and Justice, which filed a brief in support of Mr. Grand.
He said that under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, religious groups and citizens are protected from actions like those in this case.
“This particular case is Jewish, right? But for many Christians, myself included, a small-group gathering with other believers in our homes is very, very important to our day-to-day lives,” Mr. Moelker explained.
“The city’s trying to classify them like churches and require them to go through the whole zoning process that churches have to go through. It’s absurd.”
SIMILAR SITUATIONS HAVE OCCURRED IN AUSTRALIA
Daniel Grand said the Supreme Court needs to weigh in on his case not just to resolve his conflict, but to decide the question for future cases.
The Human Rights Law Alliance reports Christians in Australia have faced similar situations, including cease-and-desist notices over home churches and private Bible study groups.
It writes: “Zoning laws may not be an obvious instrument of religious restriction.”
“But when a council can classify a small group of friends praying in a living room as “religious activities” that can only occur at place of worship, the freedom to gather and believe is left to the discretion of a planning officer.”
“THESE CASES HIGHLIGHT THE EFFECTS OF OVER-REGULATION”
“A small gathering of friends praying is not a prohibited “religious activity” — just because it’s at a private residence.
“These cases demonstrate the effects of over-regulation and a growing bureaucracy.”
“Freedom of religion can’t be taken for granted when it faces pressure from unlikely sources at all levels of government.”
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