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Florida Country Club Suspended Jewish Family Over Viral Prayer Video, $50 Million Lawsuit Says
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by Jack Elbaum
Participants get tefillin put on during the UJA (United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto) annual Walk for Israel march, June 9, 2024. Photo: Shawn Goldberg / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
An Orthodox Jewish family was suspended from the Boca Grove country club in Florida after a video of a member of the family helping a guest with a traditional practice of Judaism went viral.
Isaac Scharf lives with his family in Boca Grove, which describes itself as a “prestigious, members-only golf, and country club” that “offers a boutique-style residential community.”
Scharf and his family were suspended from the community’s clubhouse after a video showed Jewish comedian and golf influencer Jake Adams with Scharf, who invited him, and others at the club, playing golf, eating food, and — notably — wrapping tefillin in December 2024. On Jan. 6, Adams posted a video of them with the tefillin, small leather boxes with straps traditionally wrapped on one’s head and arm at the start of weekday morning prayers. The video quickly went viral.
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For that, the club suspended him and his family for 90 days for what they called “offensive” religious conduct, according to a new lawsuit seeking damages for the suspension.
Scharf filed a $50 million lawsuit against Boca Grove with the Dhillon Law Group over the suspension. It alleges damages for civil rights violations, emotional distress, and economic harm.
“This may be the most egregious religious discrimination case I’ve ever handled,” said Dhillon Law Group partner Matthew Sarelson, who represents the family. “Boca Grove didn’t just target one man — they punished an entire family for participating in an innocuous act of Jewish faith.”
“This wasn’t about enforcing a policy. It was about sending a message to Orthodox Jews that they’re not welcome,” added Dhillon Law Group associate Jacob Roth.
Boca Grove did not respond to a request for comment from The Algemeiner.
However, in a statement to The Forward, Boca Grove said, “The decision in question followed feedback from multiple members — Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike — who felt the behavior depicted in a publicly circulated video mocked sacred traditions in a way they found deeply offensive.”
The Forward noted that this case is significant, and different than others the Dhillon Law Group takes on, because “it is not just a conflict between Jews and outsiders, but between Jews of varying religious practice living in the same community.”
The lawsuit claims there is a specific pattern of conduct toward the Orthodox Jews at Boca Grove. It “details broader patterns of exclusion, including the cancellation of kosher dining options and the dismantling of walking paths used on the Sabbath,” according to the Dhillon Law Group.
