ByJennifer Lipman, Jennifer Lipman
A truck-driver has been told he can sue his former employer for antisemitism – despite the fact that he is Christian.
Myron Cowher was told that the case he wanted to bring against a construction company and three of its senior staff was lawful, although the New Jersey judge did not rule on whether the allegations themselves had any merit.
Mr Cowher, who is of German-Irish and Lutheran descent, has claimed that staff at Carson & Roberts Site Construction & Engineering Inc had targeted him with antisemitic jibes, including one of his supervisors stating: "If you were a German, we would burn you in the oven."
On another occasion, Mr Cowher said, his supervisors complained that "only a Jew would argue over his hours".
The Appeals Court decision overturned a ruling by the New Jersey Superior Court, who said that a non-Jew could not sue for antisemitism. The judge said that Mr Cowher's claims were covered by the state's discrimination laws, because he was targeted because of "the perception that he was Jewish".