Open the Gates!

Faith divided shattered pews in oldest orthodox synagogue in Williamsburg

UPDATE 05/28/25: The Kings County Supreme Court ruled on May 21, 2025 in favor of the Congregation according to the ruling filed on May 27, 2025 — more to come on this in July’s issue.

“Open the gates of righteousness. I will go through them and give praises to Yah.” Line 19 from Psalm 118 in the Tanakh.

More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed in an effort to determine which of two factions has control of Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Shalom (CBJOS) at 284 Rodney Street.  The longtime members of CBJOS will be called The Congregation; many in this group have worshiped there for nearly fifty years. The newer Hasidic group, to be referred to as Leichter Faction, began coming to worship at the synagogue about a decade ago.  This is how the sides are named in a court document.  Most cases were assigned as a bundle to Judge Richard Montelione, and both sides are, as of this writing, awaiting his ruling determining who is the custodian of the synagogue. 

The Congregation wants access to their shul again. Even though currently both sides are to remain out due to a partial vacate order.  The Leichter Faction is believed by The Congregation to have added the theater of dozens of locks to the front gate and cut the chain that pulls the gate up.

“I believe that the judge saw their lies and we the members of the CBJOS will get back in. There had been so many good people praying in our shul for so many years, that they are guarding our sacred place and won’t let criminals destroy the building to satisfy their thirst for money. Note that this is all about money and is not religious in nature. Therefore, should be resolved and remain in a secular court,” America Ruiz, a member of CBJOS for over forty years

GREENLINE reached out to the Leichter Faction to be interviewed or speak on the matter and all requests were denied.

Established in 1869, CBJOS is the oldest Orthodox Jewish congregation on Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens), and could be the last remaining non-Hasidic shul/synagogue in Williamsburg. The more than 70 members of The Congregation group want to keep their house of worship to worship together. 

According to Keith Kohn, who served as president of the board of CBJOS and remains president according to The Congregation, a small group of Hasidic Jews began worshiping at CBJOS around ten years ago. The Congregation had welcomed the newcomers to their community. They did not foresee this act of fellowship would lead to the destruction of their sanctuary last September.

A pile of shattered pews is a heartbreaking site.  Broken and splintered hardwood, which in its former life supported The Congregation’s faithful as they sat and prayed for decades, filled the ground floor of CBJOS on September 17, 2024. Planks engraved with Stars of David, the former pew ends, were cast about. According to The Congregation, this was the doing of the Leichter Faction who had leased out the synagogue to Yeshiva Ohel Elozer, a Satmar boys’ high school.  The Congregation states the Leichter Faction only had agency to lease the basement.

This destruction in order to make room for the school, was despite a ruling that stated the yeshiva couldn’t move in at present — made in the Kings County Supreme Court a week prior.

“Their intention of taking over the synagogue, did not happen overnight, but was a plan step by step by the evil ones like Israel Leichter and his brother Abraham, Marcos Masri and Chaim Ruttner, then they brought Joel Gross and Rebeca Masri, and then when they established themselves they brought in the money guys, Jacob Jacobwitz, Abraham Ruben, and Elozar Porge,” said Ruiz.

Early in 2024, The Congregation began to confront the Leichter Faction for what they perceived as misconduct and the possible mishandling of funds.

At CBJOS, Chaim Ruttner and Marcos Masri had installed the Jewish Coalition for Youth Education & Support (JC YES) to receive public funds for youth services provided on the premises.  Members of The Congregation began to question if any services were actually provided. Their suspicions were fueled by the knowledge that Ruttner was convicted for credit card fraud in the ‘90s and served time in federal prison — where he found religion.

“NYC has an ongoing investigation of JC YES since 2021 due to their activities. [They are] investigating the synagogue because JC YES was occupying [CBJOS]. There was a comingling of funds. We would see checks going to the synagogue instead of the troubled youth.  Officers of the congregation were interviewed by the Department of Investigation in March 2024,” said Kohn.

Another on Ruiz’s watch list, Elozar Porge, pled guilty to wire fraud for submitting phony documents to the feds from 2013 to 2016 stating that Central United Talmudic Academy, which he led, was feeding dinners to at-risk kids according to court records. The New York Post reported on Oct. 25, 2019 Porge was sentenced to two years in federal prison for taking $3.2M in government funds that were furnished to feed kids in need.  The prosecutor’s claim was the money went instead to social events for adults and also bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs in a banquet hall.

Other accusations of fraud, some concerning the selling of cemetery plots, have been made by The Congregation.

The Leichter Faction then worked to remove The Congregation members from the board, targeting the ones who made these accusations. 

“They initiated a lockout in July, to prevent an election and the board from doing business.  They went to court to remove members with restraining orders,” said Kohn.  “A membership meeting and election was scheduled for August 29, 2024. The other side saw they were going to lose control. So they held a meeting on August 26 to move the yeshiva into the building at below market rate. This wasn’t really about a lease, but a move to take over the building.”

A couple of weeks later a notice from the Leichter Faction went up on the door of CBJOS, announcing a special board meeting on September 15 at 10 a.m. The agenda listed requests to remove two board members and members of The Congregation, Martin Needelman and America Ruiz. Needelman and Ruiz are husband and wife, were married at CBJOS, raised their family there, and have been worshiping there since the 1980s.

A little more than an hour later, Kate Yourke reported in a private Facebook group, “The pews [are] already removed and stacked outside. The building is being stripped despite a court order making clear that this administration is not legitimate, valid, or allowed to do anything like rent or sell the shul.”

Then on September 17, broken pews filled CBJOS.

According to Kohn, a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was granted to The Congregation, shortly after that day. “We came back, put up card tables and chairs and started to pray for three to four weeks.  Then the rogue board came to harass and disrupt services.  They put locks on the doors during the holiest week, then there was physical violence, theft.”

The Congregation has documented a timeline of events at CBJOS. The following is some of what this timeline states happened on December 21, 2024.  “Kohn was assaulted, knocked down and kicked, by Jacobowitz and Rubin. The NYPD’s 90^th Precinct arrived shone a flashlight on Kohn’s face and said they didn’t see any bruising and determined Keith’s assault was harassment. Keith later went to the police station and gave a report but no charges resulted.”

This timeline also records, “since Sunday January 19, 2024, the Members have been locked out of the building. Jacobowitz put locks on all doors and gates. Even when told by police that they must let other congregants in, he has refused, saying ‘This is my house, you are saying I should allow strangers into my house?’ (paraphrasing here – we have this on video).”

On January 21, 2025 the Leichter Faction went to court to get a TRO to compel the board to allow the lease and let the developers begin work.  Kohn reported they filed it by paper, which hadn’t been done in five years. This way The Congregation wasn’t notified and there was no digital reference. This [TRO] was challenged by The Congregation. But the developers working with the Leichter Faction saw a loophole, came into CBJOS and “gutted where we read the Torah and ripped up the flooring tiles which had asbestos” said Kohn.

Further work was halted on January 31, 2025 by the Department of Buildings (DOB) who issued a partial vacate order due to “conditions within the premises are imminently perilous to life and re-entry is prohibited until such conditions have been eliminated to the satisfaction of the Department.”

Another court date followed. The Leichter Faction had claimed that the yeshiva had moved in and the renovation work needed to continue.  The DOB testified on the building’s status and the judge saw the condition of the building wouldn’t support the Leichter Faction’s claim.

This March, a three-day hearing was convened for the Judge Richard Montelione to determine who is the true board and custodian of the congregation.  Closing arguments for this were submitted at the end of March.

Each Saturday since CBJOS was shuttered by the DOB for asbestos abatement, a group of The Congregation stands outside in front of the shul and observes Shabbat with prayer and song. Afterwards, Ruiz invites them over to her home for Kiddush.

At the Kiddush on April 26, 2025, it was discussed that one of the strategies of the Leichter Faction was to move the case to the religious court, which is mentioned on the court transcripts.  It is felt that the religious court would lean toward the Leichter Faction due to their connections.

Kate Yourke, thinks it should remain in the legal court system because, “There are laws restricting how nonprofits and religious organizations pursue their business and they violated those laws.”

In addition, there is The Congregation’s assertion that the Leichter Faction doesn’t see CBJOS as a religious place, they see it as property.