A Manhattan day care refused to allow a 4 years old boy to wear a necklace with a Star of Davis pendant because of safety issues. Bright Minds Center, where the boy attended, provides “European Education” and “Russian Traditions” for kids. The principals required Dmitry Goldin to remove his son’s necklace before the start of the school day.

Now the boy’s father, Dmitriy Goldin, a Soviet refugee, is suing son’s former kindergarten because he thinks it is a kind of religious persecution. Goldin is suing for unspecified damages. He already suffered the persecution in Moscow and a ban on wearing a necklace gave him flashbacks to the disturbing memories. “When I was in school in Russian kids would beat me up and spit on me for being Jewish. When you spend a whole childhood in this condition and it happens when you’re an adult it brings it all back,” he said.

The NY Post reports:

The principals at the Maiden Lane facility, Anna Volkova and Marina Korostyshevskaya, started barring Isaac from wearing the Jewish symbol in November 2016 claiming it was a “safety issue,” Goldin told The Post.

When the 43-year-old headhunter protested that the ban violated his son’s First Amendment rights the principals replied that Isaac “should find another way to display his religious affiliation,” according to court papers.

Korostyshevskaya rolled her eyes at Goldin’s Soviet persecution story.

“I’m [also] a Jew who came from Russia. Believe me, I do wear my Star of David, but it’s not safe to wear around kids. Any normal adult would understand, it has sharp corners,” she said.

When Isaac continued to wear the necklace the principals “forcibly removed” it and threatened to expel him, the Manhattan Supreme Court suit says.  Isaac now attends Success Academy where he’s allowed to wear the Star of David.

Was this really a case of religious persecution? Or are there perhaps too many things under the category of religious discrimination today?

Photo Credits: Etsy