OldestshulinUSownedby congregation, says judge

A FOUR-YEAR legal battle over who owns America’s oldest shul — the Touro — ended last month when a federal court ruled that the congregation currently using it was the rightful proprietor.

The case pitted the Jeshuat Israel congregation, housed at the 253-yearold Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, against the New York-based Shearith Israel Synagogue, at 362 years old America’s oldest congregation.

Both Orthodox congregations date back to the first Spanish and Portuguese Jews who settled in North America after fleeing the Inquisition.

According to Judge John McConnell, the Jews of the Touro, who settled in Newport and founded the shul in 1763, had a more legitimate claim to the building and its rich troves of Judaica.

This was the case, he ruled, even though Jeshuat Israel handed Shearith Israel trusteeship of the synagogue after they hit financial difficulties and had to vacate it in 1776.

The Jeshuat Israel congregation moved back into Touro in the late 19th century while the New York Congregation remained trustee of the house of worship and its assets.

Judge McConnell ruled that despite Shearith Israel’s claim that it owns the Touro shul, it served only as trustee and was never the actual owner.

His ruling allows Jeshuat Israel, which has suffered rising debt and declining membership in Newport, to sell off the Touro’s valuable silver Torah ornaments, valued at $7 million, to raise funds.