Hanukkah in America, 2002

November 30, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.globe.com/dailyglobe2/334/metro/Some_Jews_objecting_to_menorah_ceremony+.shtml

On November 30, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "when a 6-foot electric menorah is lit on Westford Common tomorrow afternoon, it will be with the blessing of the town's Board of Selectmen and the community's Christian clergy. It's some of the town's Jewish residents and at least one area rabbi who would like to see the public ceremony canceled. Rabbi Shoshana Perry, of Congregation Shalom in neighboring North Chelmsford, began lobbying to end the four-year-old public ceremony last winter. Last month she argued before the selectmen that the ceremony compromised the separation between church and state, and said she didn't believe any religious symbol should be allowed on the town green. The complaint has sparked a townwide debate. It pits those who believe religion should be kept divorced from government against those who see the ceremony as a way of educating residents about the beliefs of the growing Jewish community in the Nashoba Valley while generating holiday cheer. When the issue went before the selectmen this month, it was unanimously approved."