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Thursday, May 17, 2012

CT - Settlement Reached in Lawsuit over Burial of Black Woman in Jewish Cemetery


New London, CT - A Connecticut woman has agreed to settle her lawsuit against her Jewish congregation over the burial of a black woman in the synagogue’s cemetery.

Maria Balaban’s lawyer says he and an attorney for the Congregation Ahavath Achim in Colchester reached a tentative deal Wednesday, in the middle of the trial. Terms aren’t being disclosed. The congregation’s board and members must approve the agreement.

The 73-year-old Balaban sued the congregation last year over the burial of Juliet Steer in 2010, saying the synagogue broke its own rules against burial of non-Jews at the cemetery. Balaban initially wanted Steer’s body exhumed and relocated, but later dropped that request.

The congregation’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a message Wednesday. He had said that Balaban was suing only because Steer was black, which Balaban denied.



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