In the Boston area, difficult negotiations are taking place between town officials and Chabad rabbis over the display of menorahs on public property this Hanukkah season. While many Jewish organizations oppose on Establishment Clause grounds any kind of governmental display of religious symbols, Chabad-Lubavitch has often taken a different position. In 1989, in County of Allegheny v. ACLU, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a menorah is a religious symbol, but its display as part of a larger holiday tableau can be permissible as a "secular celebration of Christmas coupled with an acknowledgment of Chanukah as a contemporaneous alternative tradition".
Yesterday's Boston Jewish Advocate reports that Shrewsbury town selectmen originally refused a Chabad request to place a menorah in the town common. At a Nov. 21 meeting, they decided to retract their refusal, but have not given Chabad permission to display the menorah. In Wellesley, Rabbi Moshe Bleich successfully negotiated the display of a menorah on the town lawn in exchange for an agreement that he would rescind his request to hold a public ceremony. The Chabad rabbis involved argue that displaying a menorah is an important contributor to Jewish pride. Rabbi Michoel Green said, "Lots of Jewish kids here go to public schools and the Jewish kids are out of the loop."
