Jews for Allah

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Rabbi plans to reopen his Kabbalah Centre




Five months after being jailed for refusing to sign on the Sabbath day a zoning citation spurred by neighbor complaints, a rabbi plans to reopen his Orthodox worship center at a less controversial location.

Rabbi Moshe Omer had been operating his Kabbalah Centre -- which focuses on the study of Jewish mysticism -- at his former home at 2161 S. Lisa Lane, near Sahara Avenue and Durango Drive.

But the gatherings became frequent subjects of complaints by neighbors when as many as 25 to 30 cars would fill the cul-de-sac. The city's Planning Commission had denied Omer's request for a zoning variance, but The Kabbalah Centre continued holding Saturday services and smaller study classes daily. The area is zoned exclusively for residential use.

When a Las Vegas code enforcement officer showed up on the morning of June 17, a Saturday, to issue a citation for conducting religious worship in a home and creating a public nuisance, Omer refused to sign it, stating his religion did not allow him to do so.

For his refusal, Omer was taken to the city jail in a police car, despite his protests that riding in a vehicle on the Sabbath also is in opposition to his religious beliefs.

Omer was released from jail that day after a judge signed the citation, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman later apologized for the city's lack of religious sensitivity in the matter. City officials conceded that the rabbi's arrest was the only time a Las Vegan had been taken to jail over a zoning violation.

Omer said he sold the Lisa Lane home in September and, in another month, plans to reopen The Kabbalah Centre in a commercial building at 3824 S. Jones Blvd. "We were looking to move out of the house before the whole story began," Omer said.

Along with being properly zoned for a religious worship facility, the new building will have plenty of parking for his congregation, he said.

And despite rumblings about a possible First Amendment lawsuit by The Kabbalah Centre in June, Omer said there are no plans to take the city to court.

"Legal action is not what we looked for in the beginning, and it's not what we're seeking," he said. "I don't see anything to be gained from it."

-- RYAN OLIVER


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