Jewish Plaintiffs in Establishment Clause Cases

I was doing some research on Establishment Clause cases, and noticed the plaintiffs in several leading cases were Jewish. I’m sure I’m missing others.

In Braunfeld v. Brown (1961), Abraham Braunfeld and the other plaintiffs were “member[s] of the Orthodox Jewish faith, which requires the closing of their places of business and a total abstention from all manner of work from nightfall each Friday until nightfall each Saturday.”

In Engel v. Vitale (1962), Steven Engel was described as a “devout Reform Jew.”

In Flast v. Cohen (1968), the lead plaintiff was Florence Flast. Several sources indicated he was Jewish, but nothing definitive. The other plaintiffs were Albert Shanker, Helen D. Henkin, Frank Abrams, C. Irving Dwork, Florine Levin. I would surmise that at least some of these plaintiffs were Jewish as well. Cohen, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, was Jewish.

In Lee v. Weisman (1992), student Deborah Weisman was Jewish, and objected to a graduation message delivered by Rabbi Leslie Gutterman, of Temple Beth El in Providence.

In Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004), Michael Newdow’s mother was “Jewish but secular.”

In Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014), Susan Galloway was Jewish.

In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), Alton Lemon, the lead plaintiff was not Jewish, but the respondent, David Kurtzman, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, was Jewish.