Shliach Disappointed by Denial of Menorah Request

When borough council denied a request for a menorah at the borough building, some members of Chabad Fox Chapel were disappointed.

After all, a x-mas tree has been displayed at the borough for decades.

“It’s discrimination,” said Nikki O’Gorman, a secretary at the Jewish Center along Old Fox Chapel Road in O’Hara.

O’Gorman, who is Catholic, is disheartened that the request for a menorah would be declined during a time of year when unity and harmony are a focus.

Hanukkah begins at sundown Tuesday; Christmas Day is the following Sunday; Kwanzaa begins the day after that.

“Fox Chapel puts up the (Christmas) tree, which is fantastic,” she said. “They should be fair to everyone, particularly because Fox Chapel is such a diverse area.”

Rabbi Ely Rosenfeld, director of Chabad Fox Chapel, said he requested by letter that a menorah be erected to join the Christmas tree that sits alongside the municipal building. He said his group was swiftly turned down.

Borough Manager Gary Koehler said “the borough is not permitting any private party to put up displays on borough property.”

He said placement of the Christmas tree is a tradition that has been carried out for decades.

Koehler said he was approached with the request by Chabad about two years ago and rejected it for the same reasons.

The letter to Chabad from Fox Chapel’s solicitor says: “The borough does not have a public forum alongside the tree along the southern side of the building. No private entities are allowed to put up any type of display.”

O’Gorman said the response is disheartening but that Chabad members chose to relent because they didn’t want to stir resentment.

Rosenfeld said: “being that Fox Chapel is such a culturally diverse area, the leaders of Chabad Fox Chapel are rather offended and quite disheartened that no consideration has truly been put into this request.”

Chabad members said they will concentrate efforts on an upcoming public celebration to light a menorah at the corner of Fox Chapel and Freeport roads in O’Hara.