Preliminary Injunction Permits Menorah Lighting To Proceed

In Poughkeepsie, New York last night, a Chabad group lit a large menorah to mark the beginning of Hanukkah. Today's Poughkeepsie Journal reports that the menorah was at the same street corner where it has been placed for the last 15 years. In order to avoid church-state concerns, city officials wanted the menorah moved to a nearby municipal location where it would join holiday symbols of other religious groups. However, Rabbi Yacov Borenstein went to court and obtained a preliminary injunction ordering city workers to set up the menorah at its traditional location. Apparently the state trial court's decision was based on the city's failure to advise Chabad of the proposed move until after thousands of invitations had been sent out for the lighting at its traditional spot. The judge's decision did not deal with the broader constitutional issues. Those will be the subject of a hearing in January and will determine the menorah's location for future years. (AP).