A group of Jewish doctors close their medical clinic on Saturday in accordance with their religious faith. Sounds like a legitimate choice to me, and one certainly protected by the First Amendment.

But not according to the NAACP. They want to impose a little bit of involuntary servitude and religious oppression upon those who own and operate the clinic.

The village chapter of the NAACP has filed a complaint accusing the Ben Gilman Medical and Dental Clinic of religious discrimination for closing on Saturdays.

The complaint, filed Sept. 6 with the state's Division of Human Rights, alleges that the clinic's practice of remaining closed Saturdays in observance of operators' Jewish Sabbath, unlawfully imposes their religious beliefs on others.
Complainants say the practice is an unlawful violation of people's civil rights, particularly since the clinic's operator, Monsey-based Community Medical and Dental Care Inc., has received millions of dollars in federal funding.

In addition to the Gilman clinic, Community Medical and Dental Care operates Monsey Medical and Dental Center.

Sharon Milner, executive director of Community Medical and Dental Care, declined to comment on the complaint but said the organization had retained attorney Robert Lewis to handle the matter.

Lewis, who has an office in Nyack, also declined to comment.

Willie Trotman, president of the Spring Valley branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the purpose of the complaint was to have the clinic open on Saturdays.

Those who work — more than 80 percent of the clinic's clientele are Hispanic or black, according to a letter the clinic sent to the Human Rights Commission earlier this year — would find it convenient to visit their doctors on a Saturday when they had the day off, Trotman said yesterday.

Yeah – but it would also be convenient for them to see their doctors on Sundays. How many Christian doctors has the NAACP filed complaints over closing their offices on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath? I’d be willing to bet that it is a non-negative number smaller than 1.

But I guess when you are a perpetual victim class, the rights of others are irrelevant.

Posted by: Greg at 09:01 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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