Rabbi wants Menorah; City Says No

Drive by the Jacksonville Beach City Hall this week and you’ll see a X-mas tree display, wreaths, bows and other holiday decorations. What you won’t see is a menorah, despite the efforts of a local rabbi.

Rabbi Nochum Kurinsky of Chabad at the Beaches said he has tried for years to convince city officials to let him put a menorah alongside the other holiday decorations but keeps getting the run-around. He has offered to provide the city with a menorah for display at no cost.

“We start the process [of trying to display a menorah] every year, and every year we get all kinds of excuses,” said Kurinsky.

This year, Kurinsky thought he might succeed in getting city officials to allow a menorah display.

“The mayor called up, offered to help and said the only hurdle would be possible legal issues,” Kurinsky said.

Jacksonville Beach City Attorney Susan Erdelyi said she spent numerous hours looking at the law on the issue and found that the menorah cannot be displayed because it could be viewed as the establishment of a religion by local government.

“The city puts up its own holiday displays,” said Erdelyi. “It doesn’t accept other citizens’ displays. The rabbi is not getting the run-around, he’s just not getting the answer he wants.”

Erdelyi described the city’s current holiday decorations as secular in nature — a menorah would not be secular.

Kurinsky insists that he’s not out to cause trouble, he just wants the large Jewish population in the Beaches to feel involved with the city.

“They [Jacksonville Beach officials] don’t call them X-mas trees, they call them holiday decorations,” Kurinsky said. “Well, call this a holiday menorah.”