Business Bias or Service to a Community? : Lawsuit: A mortuary has catered to Jews for decades. Its alleged refusal to transport a stillborn Muslim child has raised charges of discrimination.
For 65 years, Malinow & Silverman mortuary has adhered to a policy of preparing bodies and performing funeral rites for Jewish clients only.
So in September, 1991, when Kelly Albahri--whose sister-in-law had delivered a stillborn baby--called the mortuary after a referral, Malinow & Silverman allegedly followed its long-standing practice and refused even to transport and store the body of the deceased Muslim child.
“We don’t pick up Muslim children. We only pick up Jews,” Albahri said a mortuary employee told her.
On Tuesday, the family, which lives in Hawthorne, filed a $4-million lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the mortuary and its parent company, Service Corp. Inc. of Houston, alleging unfair business practices, false advertising and discrimination. The suit also seeks an injunction to stop allegedly discriminatory practices.
“They cater to the Jewish community. And that is fine. But you can’t turn away other people,” said Michael Linfield, the Albahri family’s lawyer. “It is simply not legal to discriminate on that basis.”
Linfield said he has received complaints from six other people who say they were turned away by the mortuary because they were not Jewish.
Mortuary manager Randy Ziegler said it was against company policy to comment on cases in litigation but read a brief statement over the phone: “Malinow & Silverman has been privileged to serve the Jewish community since 1927, because we honor the customs and traditions held sacred by Jewish families. That trust is important to Malinow & Silverman.”
Malinow & Silverman, which operates two mortuaries in Los Angeles County--in the 1600 block of South Sepulveda Boulevard on the Westside, and the 7300 block of South Osage Avenue in Westchester--is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Service Corp. Inc.
A spokesman at SCI, the largest mortuary corporation in the country, confirmed that Malinow & Silverman has a policy against accepting non-Jews, but said the firm did not violate any laws.
“It is absolutely true that they forbid doing services for any other faith except for Jews,” said director of corporate communications Bill Barrett. “But in cases where a firm is providing services for a particular sect, then we believe it is legal as long as other firms offer those kinds of services. Our lawyer has looked into it.”
Albahri family members, however, said they made it clear that they did not want the mortuary to perform religious rites on the child, only to transport, store and refrigerate the body while they could decide what to do next.
“When I found out about the mortuary I felt confused, sick . . . I stopped eating,” said Fuad Albahri, the father of the dead baby, as he fought back tears at a news conference last week. “I felt like I was living in the Dark Ages. They didn’t give my son the right and respect he deserved and I feel I’m obligated to give him back his rights.”
The child was later buried by another mortuary company.
Fatme Elbahri, the mother of the deceased child, gave birth to a healthy baby girl four months ago.
The suit claims that by serving only Jewish clients, the mortuary violated the state Civil Rights Act as well as the state Business and Professions Code.
Jim Allen, executive officer of the State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, said his board could take action only if a complaint was filed and that it has not received a complaint regarding the Albahri case. He said the maximum penalty for violating the business code would be the loss of a firm’s business license.
While the preparation of bodies varies depending on the sect, most Jewish mortuaries use simple procedures before burial, including washing the body, using no make-up and dressing the deceased in “simple” clothes, according to spokesmen at two local Jewish mortuaries. Ironically, Muslims generally follow the same procedures.
Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, called the lawsuit a “wake-up call” for the area’s Muslim community.
“This is a landmark case for American Muslims because it breaks the silence that has shrouded us when we face anti-Semitism against Muslims,” said Al-Marayati. “This is a hate crime and form of exclusion against Muslims, but it is not an issue that should pit the Jewish community against the Muslim community. Both communities condemn discrimination and hopefully this is the issue which will bring us together.”
The group has created a legal fund for the family.
