Editing Jackson Township, New Jersey (section)

===Orthodox Jewish community===
Since 2016, the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] population has been growing in central and eastern Jackson Township, along the border with [[Lakewood Township, New Jersey|Lakewood Township]], due to the more affordable housing and quieter lifestyle that Jackson Township offers over Lakewood.<ref>[https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2016/03/18/orthodox-home-sales-jackson-toms-river/81091688// "Culture Shock over Orthodox Expansion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607142551/https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2016/03/18/orthodox-home-sales-jackson-toms-river/81091688/ |date=June 7, 2024 }}, ''[[Asbury Park Press]]'', March 19, 2016. Accessed July 14, 2018.</ref> By 2020, the Orthodox Jewish community had grown to approximately 500 families,<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1277881/download "United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Township of Jackson and Jackson Planning Board, Defendants."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722072718/http://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1277881/download |date=July 22, 2023 }}, [[United States Department of Justice]]. Accessed August 26, 2020. "Approximately 500 Orthodox Jewish families live in Jackson Township."</ref> out of 19,400 total households, from a limited presence just a few years prior.<ref name=Census2010/>

A series of pending lawsuits allege that Jackson Township has passed multiple ordinances trying to stymie movement from Lakewood to Jackson. A "no knock" ordinance had been passed by Jackson prohibiting door-to-door solicitation after residents complained of an increase in real estate solicitations. Ordinances were passed that were restrictive to the Orthodox Jewish lifestyle; efforts to open [[yeshiva]]s in the township, often accompanied by dormitories, were blocked by newly adopted ordinances that restricted new schools and prohibited dormitories. ''[[Eruv]]s'' (symbolic religious enclosures) were determined not to meet building and construction codes after a new ordinance was passed that tightened restrictions on items placed in the public "right-of-way".<ref>[[Joseph Berger (author)|Berger, Joseph]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/nyregion/ultra-orthodox-jews-hasidim-new-jersey.html "Uneasy Welcome as Ultra-Orthodox Jews Extend Beyond New York"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028083532/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/nyregion/ultra-orthodox-jews-hasidim-new-jersey.html |date=October 28, 2022 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 2, 2017. Accessed March 18, 2020. "Jersey City, Toms River and Jackson have all passed no-knock ordinances barring such inquiries under the threat of fines or have banned solicitations altogether.... With adequate homes hard to come by in Lakewood, Orthodox and Hasidic families have been buying properties in nearby Toms River and Jackson.... In March, Jackson adopted an ordinance banning school dormitories, which seemed aimed at yeshivas that draw students from afar. Agudath Israel of America, an umbrella group for ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic organizations, filed a federal suit in May arguing that the ordinance violated federal land-use laws intended to protect religious groups against burdensome local restrictions."</ref><ref>Davis, Mike.[https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2019/05/20/jackson-outrageously-targeted-orthodox-jews-lawsuit-claims/1150572001/ "Jackson 'outrageously targeted' Orthodox Jews, lawsuit claims"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607143654/https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2019/05/20/jackson-outrageously-targeted-orthodox-jews-lawsuit-claims/1150572001/ |date=June 7, 2024 }}, ''[[Asbury Park Press]]'', May 20, 2019. Accessed March 18, 2020. "Jackson - The alleged 'outrageous targeting' of Orthodox Jews by the township has brought tensions to new heights, with a new lawsuit claiming local officials have been 'religiously and racially discriminatory.'... Schnall estimated that nearly 1,000 Orthodox Jewish families live in Jackson, with 1,500 children attending private schools in Lakewood next year since there aren't any religious schools for them in Jackson."</ref> To address this last concern, the township entered into a preliminary settlement allowing ''eruvs'' in some parts of township and proposed a township-wide solution that was ultimately deemed impractical.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jackson proposes town-wide eruv but nobody — not even Orthodox Jews — wants it|url=https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2019/10/31/jackson-proposes-giant-eruv-but-nobody-not-even-orthodox-jews-wants/4095985002/|website=Asbury Park Press|language=en|access-date=2020-05-01|archive-date=June 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607143645/https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2019/10/31/jackson-proposes-giant-eruv-but-nobody-not-even-orthodox-jews-wants/4095985002/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition, the [[United States Department of Justice]] and the [[New Jersey Attorney General]] have opened investigations into whether the township practiced anti-Semitic discrimination, filing multiple [[subpoena]]s against township officials.<ref>Bogues, Austin. [https://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2017/12/14/justice-department-jackson-discrimination-orthodox-jewish/951696001/ "Jackson: Justice Department, NJ probe anti-Semitic discrimination claims"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607143646/https://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2017/12/14/justice-department-jackson-discrimination-orthodox-jewish/951696001/ |date=June 7, 2024 }}, ''[[Asbury Park Press]]'', December 14, 2017. Accessed April 18, 2020. "Jackson - The U.S. Justice Department and the New Jersey State Attorney General's Office are investigating whether the township has discriminated against Orthodox Jews in land-use issues, according to Township Attorney Joan Cipriani."</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2018/01/08/jackson-eruv-dormitory-ban-ordinance-investigation/997101001/|title=Jackson eruv, dorm anti-Semitism investigation looks at residents' emails|website=Asbury Park Press|language=en|access-date=2020-04-20|archive-date=June 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607143555/https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2018/01/08/jackson-eruv-dormitory-ban-ordinance-investigation/997101001/|url-status=live}}</ref> These investigations culminated in May 2020 with a federal lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice against the township, alleging violations of the [[Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act]] and the [[Fair Housing Act]] related to the township's new land use laws.<ref>Atmonvage, Joe. [https://www.nj.com/news/2020/05/fed-sue-nj-town-for-allegedly-passing-restrictions-aimed-at-orthodox-jewish-community.html "Feds sue N.J. town for allegedly passing restrictions aimed at Orthodox Jewish community"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607143649/https://www.nj.com/news/2020/05/fed-sue-nj-town-for-allegedly-passing-restrictions-aimed-at-orthodox-jewish-community.html |date=June 7, 2024 }}, NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], May 20, 2020. Accessed May 22, 2020. "The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Jackson Township and its planning board, alleging the town enacted zoning ordinances that discriminated against the Orthodox Jewish community by preventing them from opening religious boarding schools in the town. The two ordinances were passed by the township’s council in 2017 and both 'expressly prohibit dormitories throughout Jackson, making it impossible for religious boarding schools to establish in the Township,' according to the complaint."</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Township of Jackson, New Jersey, and the Township's Planning Board for Zoning Restrictions that Target the Orthodox Jewish Community|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-township-jackson-new-jersey-and-townships-planning|date=2020-05-19|website=www.justice.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-05-25|archive-date=February 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226235722/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-township-jackson-new-jersey-and-townships-planning|url-status=live}}</ref>