Woman barred because of her Jewish ancestry from building home in “whites-only” community in Arkansas files discrimination lawsuit.By World Israel News StaffA Missouri woman has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the operators of a remote Arkansas settlement promoted as a community for white residents, alleging she was blocked from buying land because of her Jewish ancestry and her multiracial family.Michelle Walker, a white Christian woman with Jewish ancestry who is married to a black man and has biracial children, says Return to the Land violated federal and state civil rights and fair housing laws when it rejected her application to purchase land in its Ozarks development.The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, names Return to the Land, its co-founders, its Ozarks chapter and the corporation that owns the land. It seeks damages and a court order barring the group from engaging in allegedly discriminatory housing practices.Return to the Land describes itself as a private membership association dedicated to building “European heritage communities” with “traditional views.”Its north Arkansas chapter owns about 160 acres near Ravenden, where the group has sought to create a settlement limited to white, Christian and heterosexual residents, according to the lawsuit and local reporting.Civil rights groups representing Walker said the case is a direct challenge to racially exclusive housing.“Return to the Land’s actions constitute blatant and brazen violations of long-standing federal and state fair housing laws,” said Reed Colfax, co-managing partner at Relman Colfax. “Ms. Walker has been deprived of her housing and civil rights, including the right to purchase land and build housing.”The Legal Defense Fund, Relman Colfax PLLC and Legal Aid of Arkansas filed the suit on Walker’s behalf. The groups say Return to the Land discriminated against her because of her ancestry, religion and the race of her family members.Walker learned in 2025 that Return to the Land was offering land in Arkansas at what the complaint describes as an unusually low price. She was interested in the property as an investment and because she had occasionally vacationed in the area.But the application process asked about her ancestry and religion, as well as the background of her husband and children, according to the complaint.The lawsuit says she was later told through the group’s online portal that she was “not an ideal fit.”The complaint says Return to the Land’s application also asks prospective members for their views on topics including immigration, segregation, multiculturalism, and same-sex marriage.Applicants are required to submit photos or video “to confirm that they appear white” and are encouraged to provide DNA test results, the complaint says, according to the Arkansas Advocate.The lawsuit accuses the group of trying to build segregated communities for white residents and says its founders believe white people are genetically superior to other groups. The Legal Defense Fund called Return to the Land “a white nationalist organization seeking to establish a segregated, whites-only settlement in Arkansas.”“A community grounded in the exclusion of people based on their race and religion cannot be squared with the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws that have been in place for decades,” said Jason Bailey, senior counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. “Return to the Land is attempting to revive housing policies and practices from one of America’s darkest eras, and we will fight to ensure this does not stand.”Lee Richardson, executive director of Legal Aid of Arkansas, said: “A whites-only community is illegal, discriminatory, and unacceptable.”Return to the Land has defended its model as an exercise in private association.Eric Orwoll, the group’s president and one of the defendants, previously told CNN that residents must identify with European heritage and ancestry, and said the group draws its values from Christianity and Norse paganism.“You have to be someone who identifies with your European heritage and ancestry,” Orwoll said at the time. “You have to celebrate traditional European values.”He also said Jewish ancestry would not fit the group’s standard because “Jewish origins” have “their roots in the Near East.”The group did not respond to requests for comment from several outlets after the lawsuit was filed.The Arkansas Advocate reported that Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office, which previously said it had found no evidence of illegal activity after reviewing the project, is reviewing the complaint.The case could test the limits of Return to the Land’s claim that it can use a private membership structure to restrict who may buy into its communities. Walker’s lawyers argue that federal and state law bar property transactions from being denied on the basis of race, color, national origin or religion.“This lawsuit sends the message to RTTL and any other white separatist organizations seeking to perpetuate segregation — the rule of law remains intact,” said John Relman, founding partner of Relman Colfax. “Our nation will not abandon the fair housing rights we have fought so hard to uphold and enforce.”Orwoll said that his organization is prepared for a legal battle, which he hopes will clarify the legality of the RTTL and encourage other groups to replicate the RTTL model.“The NAACP is backing a new lawsuit against RTTL by a Jewish woman, this time for discrimination,” Orwoll wrote on X.“It’s 100% a case that could set precedent relevant for all White Americans, and we intend to fight it with everything we have.”The post ‘Whites-only’ town sued for barring woman over her Jewish ancestry appeared first on World Israel News.