The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that a Jewish family had the right to cover their yard with signs condemning hate and racism after their neighbor directed an antisemitic slur at them during a property dispute a decade ago.
The court determined that Simon and Toby Galapo were exercising their rights under the Pennsylvania Constitution when they placed 23 protest signs on their property over several years, facing them towards their neighbor’s house in the Philadelphia suburbs.
The signs included messages like “Hitler Eichmann Racists,” “No Place 4 Racism,” and “Woe to the Racists. Woe to the Neighbors.”
“All homeowners at one point or another are forced to gaze upon signs they may not like on their neighbors’ property — be it ones that champion a political candidate, advocate for a cause, or simply express support or disagreement with some issue,” Justice Kevin Dougherty writes for the court’s 4-2 majority. He says suppressing such speech would “mark the end to residential expression.
