Orlando, USA - With one long, loud blast of a ram's horn, Rabbi Joseph Konikov marked his victory in a four-year fight with Orange County over religious rights.
A federal court's ruling announced Monday sided in his favor, saying that the rabbi can continue to have religious meetings at his house in the Sand Lake Hills neighborhood.
And the ruling from U.S. District Court in Orlando signed Friday effectively removes the $50,000 in fines Orange County had piled against the rabbi, as well as the county's push to foreclose on his house to collect the fines.
"I thank almighty God," Konikov said Monday afternoon. "This is a great day for Jewish people and all American citizens. This is about religious freedom. My grandfather had to flee Communist Russia over prayer services in his home."
But here, the court says Konikov can stay.
The trouble started in 2001 when neighbors complained to Orange County zoning officials, saying that his twice-weekly religious services caused traffic and parking problems.
The county began fining Konikov in 2002, touching off a long court battle that went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last June before reaching Orlando federal court.
Meanwhile, the fines stacked up because Konikov wouldn't relent. As the case worked its way through the courts, the rabbi was in jeopardy of losing his home, said John Stemberger, Konikov's attorney. But ultimately, both the appeals court and the federal court in Orlando decided that the county's zoning ordinance unfairly singled out religious groups and was too vague.
In a 10-page ruling, U.S. District Judge John Antoon II said that a group such as the Cub Scouts or a gathering of friends to watch sports wouldn't violate the county's code. The ruling also said the code was vague because it lacks enforcement standards.
The county's next step, if any, was unclear.
Assistant County Attorney Gary M. Glassman said Monday that county officials had just received the ruling and had not had time to review it.
"We [county attorneys] will meet in the next couple of days and decide where we'll go from here," Glassman said.
Bill Flegal, one of Konikov's neighbors on Tamarind Circle who also is a member of the Sand Lake Hills Homeowners Association, said the issue was never about religion, but about traffic and parking.
Flegal said "there are times you can't get through the street" because of cars parked on both sides of the road.
Flegal said he wasn't sure what the homeowners association would do next. Its president, Ted McDonald, relayed a message to the media through Flegal, saying he would not comment on the case at this time.
But Stembergerdeclared the ruling a "decisive and final victory."
"There's no court for the county to go back to," Stemberger said. "This is the end. It tosses out Orange County's code."
Konikov celebrated with a small gathering of friends and family and a prayer service. He sounded the ram's horn, the shofar, because in Jewish tradition, the horn is used to mark a great victory.
Konikov said he has resolved most of the issues with his neighbors by holding large religious meetings elsewhere but said he will continue to hold small gatherings at his home.
He said he hoped his victory would "give strength and support to those who are still struggling for religious freedom."