MONTVALE — Borough officials are working to settle a federal lawsuit that was filed by a Rockland County Orthodox Jewish group after Montvale blocked expansion of a religious boundary known as an eruv.

Montvale and the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association have been negotiating outside of court to come to a “mutually acceptable plan,” Mayor Mike Ghassali confirmed this week.

Yehudah Buchweitz, an attorney for the eruv association, said the group tried to engage with the borough before filing suit, to no avail. After the lawsuit was filed, town officials reached out to discuss a potential settlement, the attorney said.

“We’re in discussions with them, and we’re happy to resolve any of these cases, as long as we have our eruv,” Buchweitz said.

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In October, Montvale became the third Bergen County town to face legal action from the eruv association, which has also filed suit against Mahwah and Upper Saddle River.

The federal lawsuit, filed by the association and five Orthodox Jewish residents of Rockland County, claims the borough is depriving the plaintiffs of their ability to fully and freely practice their religion by restricting the eruv’s construction.

An eruv, which in this case is marked with white PVC pipes on utility poles, creates a ritual enclosure that allows Orthodox Jews to push and carry objects outside their homes on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

The Monsey, N.Y.-based association began extending a 26-mile Rockland County eruv into Mahwah and Upper Saddle River this summer. Ghassali issued a stop-order before it could be built in Montvale.

Mahwah and Upper Saddle River have called for the eruv’s removal, arguing that it was constructed without consent and violates local zoning laws. Montvale officials, meanwhile, have said the boundary violates a borough ordinance concerning “litter,” according to the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court.

The construction of the eruv has led to fierce backlash, especially in Mahwah, where Township Council meetings have been heated. Some residents have voiced concern that communities of ultra-Orthodox Jews would try to expand from Rockland County into New Jersey, triggering a population explosion that could lead to issues with the school system, high-density housing and overcrowding.

The group that erected the eruv has dismissed these concerns, saying the boundary is simply meant to help New York Jews living near the New Jersey border practice their religion.

Ghassali thanked Montvale residents this week for heeding a request not to post or publicly comment on the issue, which he said helped officials to directly discuss the issue with the eruv association. Ghassali said in an email to residents that the borough may host a town hall in January to discuss the issue.

Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, who oversaw the eruv’s construction in Mahwah and Upper Saddle River, seemed doubtful in October that a settlement with Montvale would come, stating: “It’s sad that we couldn’t settle this.”

But the tide appears to be shifting — and not just in Montvale. Earlier this month, the Mahwah council voted to start walking back two controversial ordinances that are the subject of a civil rights lawsuit filed by the state Attorney General’s Office. Some have speculated that the town is looking to settle the suit.

Buchweitz has said he is also in talks with Mahwah officials.

Email: nolan@northjersey.com