A Hasidic Jew who was fired from the NYPD for refusing to
shave his beard could win the right to rejoin the force.
Fishel Litzman, 39, was just a month away from graduating
from the police academy when he was fired last June.
The police department has a rule that beards may not exceed
more than 1 millimeter in length. Litzman, who keeps a beard for religious
purposes, objected to shaving and is fighting the NYPD in court to get his job
back.
On Friday, Federal Judge Harold Baer said that his
termination made him a victim of religious discrimination. The ruling may allow
Litzman to pursue the career of his dreams.
'I want people to know that you can follow your dreams and
never have to compromise your religion. That's what makes this country so
great,' Litzman told the Daily News.
According to CNN, Litzman was in the top 1 per cent of his
classes at the police academy and was well liked by fellow classmates.
He also told the police academy of his religious needs
before he was even a student.
'Since I had applied for an exemption before I was accepted
and had already been photographed, I believed that the NYPD was aware of my
religious needs and accepted me knowing I needed to keep my beard intact,'
Litzman wrote.
The NYPD claims that officers must shave their beards so
that they can properly wear a gas mask in the case of a terrorist attack.
Litzman's lawyer, Nathan Lewin, is arguing that the police
department made and 'after the fact rationalization' for why he had to shave
his beard. He blames their decision on blatant discrimination.
Even though the judge acknowledged that it would be
problematic if all cops could not properly wear a gas mask, he also said that
the NYPD couldn't claim the '1 millimeter' standard as an official rule.
The NYPD also doesn't enforce the beard rule for undercover
cops, who still may have to wear a gas mask in the case of an attack.
CNN reports that when Litzman was a student at the academy
he was told, 'Cut your beard, after the academy you'll never have to.' People
at the academy also told him, 'it's an unenforced rule.'
'One of the points that has been drilled home during my
short time at the academy is the need to represent the NYPD with integrity,'
Litzman wrote to police following his termination in 2012 .
'Although not knowing whether I will be punished for maintaining
my religious beliefs has been very taxing on me and my family, I will not waver
in my firm belief that I can be a successful member of the NYPD and an Orthodox
(Hasidic) Jew at the same time,' he continued.
Attorney Nathan Lewin is no stranger to hairy situations and
has won many cases for Hasids who've fought to keep their beards in the Army
and in the Air Force.
'We hope this is the beginning of the end of the NYPDs
refusal to grant full religious accommodations to applicants who may not, for
religious reasons, trim their beards,' said Lewin to the Daily News.
Lewin also said that they will ask for Litzman to be
reinstated.
'The primary objective was always to get back into the
academy and do what I always dreamed of,' said Litzman.
Litzman has been working as a paramedic since being fired
but hopes to be in uniform again.
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