BOCA RATON, Fla. — An exclusive golf and boating club accused of excluding Jews has reached an agreement with the state attorney general's office to change its long-standing membership policy.
The Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club admits no wrongdoing under the agreement.
The club, which charges an $80,000 initiation fee, will now accept applications for the first time in its 43-year history. Previously, it required candidates to be sponsored by two members who had known them for at least two years and receive letters of recommendation from three others.
"The club was weeding people out because you couldn't get a sponsor, so you couldn't get an application," Mary Ann Clark, an assistant state attorney general, said Monday. Under the agreement, the club also will submit its applicant records to the attorney general for review for two years.
The attorney general's office became involved last May after Morris Robinson, who is Jewish, filed a discrimination complaint.
Robinson's attorney, Ross Goodman, said the agreement reached with the club doesn't go far enough, and he intends to seek a court order to require the club to immediately accept Jews.