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The cutting edge
by Edwin Black
Would all the Jewish people
who are tired of the American Civil
Liberties Union and various Jewish
organizations suing little towns at
Christmastime to remove their crosses
and nativity scenes please stand
up? I’ve about had it.
A perfect example is the ACLU’s
current lawsuit against the tiny
municipality of St. Charles, 111.,
whose firehouse has a small rooftop
tower a few dozen feet high. Some
15 years ago the tower was crossed
with a short bar and every year at
Christmas, it’s lighted to form an
obvious latin cross in honor of the
holiday. The ACLU recently marched
in with a federal court injunction
prohibiting the cross.
The local Christian townsfolk
are angry and riled. They don't see
the important constitutional issue;
they only see that someone is trying
to take away their right to observe
Christmas. Similar battles have been
fought throughout the nation, from
Rhode Island to Los Angeles. We
all know the rationale: Harvey
Grossman, legal director of the
ACLU’s Illinois office, which sued
St. Charles, explains: “We are
concerned with government giving
the effect of endorsing one religion.”
It’s not just the ACLU—a non-
Jewish group. The American Jewish
Congress has recently sued the city
of Chicago over religious symbols
such as its creche of 35 years. The
Anti-Defamation League was a friend
of the court in the Rhode Island
creche case. Other Jewish groups
frequently file friend of the court
briefs in such suits.
There’s a bottom line here. Some
people do see this as a Jewish or
surrogate Jewish campaign. It is
especially good material for anti-
Semites who portray Jews as the
defilers of Christianity. Hence, in
such cases, we often see a victory
for the separation of Church and
State that of course benefits the
Jews, but a failure for community
relations which hurts the Jews.
What’s missing here are two senses:
a sense of neighborliness and a
sense of timing. “We have to be
sensitive to local customs," asserts
Jonathan Levine, the American
Jewish Committee’s Midwest director.
“Specifically, the time to work with
community leaders is not the
Christmas season.”
Timing is indeed what many
Jewish leaders object to. “I agree
with the principles but disagree
with the tactics,” declares Rabbi
M ordechai Simon, executive director
of Chicago's Board of Rabbis. “Most
of the Jewish community agrees
with these legal actions around the
country, but they might also say
why rub the larger community the
wrong way duringChristmas. After
the holidays we can arrive at the
proper legal conclusion.”
An American Jewish Congress
official concedes: “We are aware of
some of the unpleasant fallout
between the Christian community
and our co-religionists to keep the
status-quo. But it is important to
keep the separation of Church and
State. This is not a movement of
people against religion. We are
against religion and government
entanglements.”
Common sense was verbalized
by Randolph Kahn, community
consultant of the Chicago regional
office of the A nti-Defamation League:
“People in these small towns don’t
see the constitutional issue,” says
Kahn. “They only see this as an
outsider/ insider kind of thing. The
people who live there see the creche
or cross as part of (heir community.
They only see their religion and the
festivities of the season being taken
away from them. Sure there is a
constitutional breach. But during
the Christmas season you just don’t
bring up the issue. Sentiments run
high. From a practical community
relations point of view, it’s bad
timing. If people do single out
Jews, and sometimes it happens,
then. . . it’s a definite failure. So if
you’re going to bring up the creche
cases, bring them up in summer.”
much longer than we expected (to
file suit) because it became stalled
in the national decision-making
process.”
Grossman of the ACLU adds,
“We did not plan the timing of this suit
to get them at Christmas. We filed
it at the time that we could physically
get the volunteer lawyers to handle
the case. You may have a point
here, but give us a break, we don’t
have an agenda to file these lawsuits
in the middle of the Christmas
season.”
If the timing is coincidental as
the ACLU and the Congress claim,
it points up a lack of sensitivity
that needs to be corrected. “You
can win the battle but lose the
war,” says Levine of the Committee.
In other words, to our Christian
friends and neighbors, Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.
If we have any problems to discuss,
we’ll talk to you in the spring.
® Feature Group
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PAGE 3 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 20, 1985