Supporters of fired Congregation Tifereth Israel rabbi seek to have dismissal overturned

Supporters of a Greenport rabbi who was removed by his congregation last year have asked a state appeals court to overturn a lower court judge's decision that upheld his termination.

Rabbi Gadi Capela and more than a dozen supporters, in papers filed in January with the Second Appellate Division in Brooklyn, said State Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski erred earlier that month when he cited church-state issues as he declined to reinstate Capela as spiritual leader of Congregation Tifereth Israel.

The congregation voted last September to remove Capela, the synagogue's rabbi since 2013, following three days of voting. The congregation previously had removed Capela "for cause," which was later changed to a suspension.

Capela and his supporters filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit in October, alleging he suffered "severe" reputational damage because of the firing, attorneys for him and several of his supporters said at the time.

As part of the wrongful-termination suit, Capela also filed a defamation suit seeking at least $500,000 in compensation from the congregation for what he called in court papers "numerous false and defamatory statements of fact."

Modelewski allowed the defamation portion of the lawsuit to continue.

The parties are due to appear before Modelewski at 11 a.m. Friday in State Supreme Court in Riverhead.

Capela and his supporters plan to hold a news conference outside the courthouse at 2 p.m. Friday following the hearing.

In a related matter, a Southold Town judge last month granted the synagogue's request for a warrant to evict Capela from a home owned by the congregation after he refused to leave. Capela was ordered to pay $11,000 to the synagogue.

Capela, in a phone interview, said Tuesday he still lives in the house.

He likened his situation to the biblical story of a property dispute between King Ahab and the Prophet Elijah. He said about half the synagogue's roughly 120 members have left.

“I am still serving half of the congregation. They have not left me,” Capela said. “The wise thing for [congregation leaders] to do is accept the mediation that was offered to them and not ignore half of the congregation.”

A letter prepared by the synagogue had alleged Capela had an inconsistent attendance record at religious services and attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year in “an apparent deception to gain three vacation days.” Court papers also cite doctrinal disputes between synagogue leaders and Capela over preparations for Sabbath and Passover services.

In his Jan. 9 ruling, Modelewski cited the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause, which bars government interference in religion. He said U.S. courts "are precluded from adjudicating disputes involving ecclesiastical governance."

He added, "Even if this court was possessed of sufficient knowledge and understanding of Judaism in order to discern whether Rabbi Capela violated any tenets of faith, the aforestated constitutional prohibitions forbid this court from uttering any such determinations."

In their appeal, Capela and his supporters said the separation of church and state did not apply because the case was centered "not upon religious doctrine, but upon neutral principles of corporate rules and procedures."

Congregation Tifereth Israel president Sara Bloom referred questions to the synagogue's lawyer, Richard Zuckerman, of Melville.

Zuckerman, in an email, said Modelewski "got it right because, in order to know whether the rabbi's contract was violated, he would have to first decide whether and, if so, which, religious rules apply, but civil courts are not permitted to do that."

Guest rabbis have led services at the synagogue since Capela’s departure. The congregation formed a rabbi search committee to find his successor.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.