A judge in Buffalo was asked to delve into the qualities of being Jewish in a case in which an Orthodox Jew from South Africa claimed his Reform Jewish wife, an American, is not really a Jew. In Lazar v. Lazar, 2011 NY Slip Op 51749, Barry D. Lazar counterclaimed to his wife’s petition for divorce and sought an annulment, alleging that Melissa Lazar had fraudulently misrepresented herself as a Jew. Mr. Lazar contended his wife cannot qualify as a bona fide Jew because her mother is not a Jew, and that she is really a Catholic who carried out a ruse throughout their 11-year marriage, observing the Jewish Sabbath, holidays and traditions.
Erie County Supreme Court Justice Patrick H. NeMoyer (See Profile) concluded that he “could not possibly address the instant dispute over plaintiff’s actual Jewishness—especially the subdispute concerning whether plaintiff (or her mother) is a legitimate convert to Judaism—without intruding into the religious sphere and thereby violating the First Amendment to the Constitution.” However, the court did address the allegation of marital fraud and noted Mrs. Lazar’s belief that she is genealogically Jewish and that she has practiced Judaism throughout her life. “The only reasonable perspective on the…facts is not that they evince some fantastically successful conspiracy to conceal that plaintiff is a Gentile, but rather that they evince the genuineness of plaintiff’s Jewish faith and religious observance,” Justice NeMoyer wrote.
