HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A heated controversy over a proposed Jewish ritual bath, known as a Mikvah, came to a head in Hollywood on Tuesday night, with the developers ultimately ordered to go back to the drawing board.
The property at the center of the fight sits at 1434 Monroe St.
The plan calls for demolishing the existing home and building a Mikvah, a religious purification bath that requires immersion in a pool of water, traditionally collected from rain, in its place.
Developers are asking the city for a special exception to construct what would be a religious building in a residential zone.
Neighbors pushed back, saying the design doesn’t fit the neighborhood and warned it could create zoning conflicts and traffic problems.
“With all due respect, put it somewhere else,” one woman who is against the Mikvah said.
Another woman said she stands “in full support of the Mikvah.”
Mikvah supporters wore white to Tuesday’s meeting inside Hollywood City Hall while those opposed wore red.
“Mikvah’s are traditionally built in residential neighborhoods across the world because women go at night and need to feel safe, comfortable and close to home,” one woman who is married to a rabbi said.
“This is going to be a commercial building as opposed to a residential building. I’d like to see my neighborhood preserved as a residential area,” a woman named Collette said.
Some said they felt they simply weren’t welcome in the area due to the opposition against the Mikvah.
“I hear so many members of the community say, ‘This is not what you’re saying it is.’ I just hear, ‘You’re not welcome here,’” one supporter said.
“There are better places. We welcome the Jews, we welcome you. We do not think the neighborhood should be desecrated and changed,” another person said.
In the end, the board told the developers to go back to the drawing board and return with new designs that better match the neighborhood before any decision is made.
The next meeting on the issue will be held on Feb. 10.
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