The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a previous ruling granting New York's Shearith Israel congregation ownership over America's oldest synagogue.
The current dispute began in 2012, when Congregation Jeshuat Israel, which holds regular services at Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island, attempted to sell its valuable set of silver Torah bells that are worth $7.4 million to establish an endowment to maintain a rabbi and care for the building, which was designated a national historic site in 1946. Shearith Israel sued to stop the sale and attempted to evict the 120-family congregation from the building.
In 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Jack McConnell ruled in favor of Jeshuat Israel, granting it control of the Touro Synagogue, including its claim of ownership of the silver bells. However, the ruling was overturned by a federal court in 2017, handing control of America's oldest synagogue to Shearith Israel.
After the ruling on Thursday, Touro Synagogue said that it intended to contest the ruling in the Supreme Court. "We are disappointed with the Court of Appeals ruling, even as it tried to change portions of its prior decision,” said an attorney representing Touro Synagogue. “The dissent got it right. We will seek review by the United States Supreme Court to continue our fight to preserve the Touro Synagogue and the rights of Congregation Jeshuat Israel, the only congregation that has prayed there for over a century.”
The Touro synagogue building was consecrated in 1763 when the town had one of the largest Jewish populations in the American colonies.