An Orthodox Jewish family’s federal discrimination lawsuit against their Boca Raton homeowner association suffered a setback recently but the family says it’s determined to continue its fight.
Meanwhile, the creator of a popular online video that sparked the suit says he doubts he would ever return to the Boca Grove country club to make a follow-up video.
“I don’t think they’d have me back at this point,” said Jake Adams, an Instagram content producer whose short video poking fun at Boca Grove’s Jewish-friendly attributes prompted the development’s board of directors in March to suspend use of its amenities for Issac Scharf, who invited Adams to the club, and six members of Scharf’s family.
Scharf, owner of a bedding supply company called Pillow Guy, struck back on May 30 by filing a $50 million federal lawsuit accusing Boca Grove of using the video as a pretext to punishing him, in violation of the Fair Housing Act, for “being visibly Orthodox at Boca Grove’s clubhouse,” according to the suit.
The Scharfs’ lawsuit argued that Adams’ video, which included a brief shot of Scharf and Adams performing an Orthodox ritual known as wrapping tefillin, “brought attention to Orthodox Jewish life at Boca Grove and made the community look inviting and welcoming to Orthodox Jews, thus interfering with their goal of driving the Orthodox community away and reducing its visibility.”
On Aug. 22, a federal judge dismissed the Scharfs’ lawsuit, not based on its arguments, but in response to a motion by the association stating that the family failed to first request pre-suit mediation over the matter as required by state law.
Matthew Sarelson, of the West Palm Beach-based Dhillon Law Group Inc., said the Scharfs have already filed a request to convene pre-suit mediation within 90 days. If the mediation fails, he said, the family will “recommence the lawsuit.”
Scharf told the South Florida Sun Sentinel last week that he and his family are “100% on board with the strategy.”
Sarelson declined to reveal what they would seek in the mediation, saying the process is “intentionally confidential.”
Brandon Rippo, president of the Boca Grove Property Owner’s Association, sent an email to its members on Aug. 22 notifying them about the dismissal. “This case is now closed,” Rippo wrote.
The association did not respond to a request for comment about the Scharfs’ intention to pursue pre-suit mediation and another lawsuit if necessary.
Scharf has said that the 90-day suspension traumatized his wife and five children. All of the family members were barred from use of the clubhouse, pool area, exercise classes, children’s playground, pickleball courts, and all golf facilities, the lawsuit said, adding that Scharf and his wife were required to relinquish use of their auto transponders, what enabled them to enter the development without stopping at the guard shack.
In June, the association told the Sun Sentinel that suspension of the Scharfs’ rights to use association amenities was “not about the suppression of religious practice.”
The decision to suspend the family, it said, “followed feedback from multiple members — Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike — who felt the behavior depicted in a publicly circulated video mocked sacred traditions in a way they found deeply offensive. The concern centered on conduct perceived as disrespectful, not religious observance.”
And the association’s motion to dismiss the case said that the Scharfs’ punishment wasn’t about wrapping tefillin — in which adherents attach to their bodies leather straps tied to boxes containing verses from the Torah. “Rather, [the family] was suspended because I. Scharf participated in the making of a video, published to (at least) the maker’s 2.5+ million social media followers, which was found to be offensive by numerous members of the Association,” the motion said.
Adams’ Boca Grove video, like about 20 others he said he has made at so-called Jewish country clubs around the world, poked fun at Jewish tropes.
In the video, Adams refers to the course’s 13th hole as its “Bar Mitzvah” hole because a Jewish boy’s Bar Mitzvah occurs when he is 13 years old. He called the club’s kosher cafe the “Starbucks of David,” said its buffet offered “six meals for the price of one,” showed off a “Juber-eats delivery,” and said a cold tub was useful “to train your nervous system to handle phone calls from your mother.”
The Scharfs’ lawsuit states that Adams, who is not Orthodox, is known for being “lovingly light-hearted, particularly about Jewish culture.”
In an interview, Adams said he was surprised by the Scharfs’ suspension because he thought that managers of the country club were aware of what he does and approved of his visit.
According to the Scharfs’ complaint, a club manager brought him apparel from the pro shop and food, while club officials asked numerous times when the video would be posted.
Adams concurred with the complaint’s claim that the association “liked” the video after it was posted on Instagram and praised it in a comment that was later removed.
While the lawsuit said he offered to make changes to the video to allay any concerns, Adams said he did not feel pressured to remove it. “It’s been shared thousands of times, so if I take it down, it’s not going to change anything,” he said.
Adams said he has turned his social media skills into a full-time job with seven employees. Among his roster of sponsors is kosher product maker Manischewitz, while his Instagram page, Country Club Adjacent, has more than a million followers.
A Los Angeles resident, Adams has posted videos making fun of country clubs throughout the country, including San Francisco and Palm Springs in California. “I just did one in Glasgow, Scotland, at a Jewish club there. I’m going to do one in Detroit in a couple weeks.”
“Since starting the Jewish series a year and a half ago, the community has been incredible. I put on this tournament called the Matzo Ball, with comedic Jewish-themed activations on each hole. Anything from the Jewish mother hole to a break-the-glass hole for Jewish weddings. It’s been a great way to get this community together.”
He says he’s often contacted by country clubs asking for reviews.
“I know for a fact that clubs have benefited from it. They’ve reached out to me and said, we just got five or 10 new members and they all said they saw your video,” he said.
Those clubs are in on the joke, he said. “You know, a big driver for me is, through Jewish history, being able to laugh at yourself or make jokes can get you through tough times. That’s kind of been the motivation for me to lean into this series.”
Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071 or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.
