A city in Illinois sparked controversy by limiting a Hanukkah menorah display to a few hours instead of the full eight days.
As of Tuesday, more than 6,500 people have signed a Change.org petition demanding Lake Forest allow a menorah display at its Market Square shopping center for the duration of the holiday.
“The City is pleased to support Chabad of Lake Forest’s Menorah Lighting and Chanukah Ceremony in Market Square on Sunday, December 29, 2024, at 4 p.m. Mayor Stanford Tack will participate by lighting the middle candle of the Menorah and other local elected officials are expected to attend,” the city, which is located north of Chicago, said in a statement.
“While the ceremony is a valued community event, the menorah will not remain in Market Square unattended after the event this year,” it added. “Based on legal guidance from the City’s attorneys, the City must either allow all requests for extended displays by private groups on public property or deny them entirely to ensure safe public access and consistency in the use of public spaces.”
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A Hanukkah menorah is lit in Lake Forest, Ill., in December 2023. (Chabad of Lake Forest)
“Since granting all such requests could lead to challenges in managing public spaces, the City has chosen to allow only time-limited displays as part of organized special events by community groups,” it also said.
The Change.org petition, authored by a self-described local “interfaith family,” said last year’s menorah display in Market Square was up for all eight days and “brought great joy to us and was well-received by our community.”
“However, to our dismay, we learned that this year the city will only allow the menorah to be displayed for a few hours on the evening of December 29th. This decision undermines the inclusive spirit our city showed last year and deeply disheartens us as well as many other families who appreciated the menorah display’s representation of our community’s diversity,” it added.
“Let us push for the reinstatement of the menorah at Market Square, not just for one night, but for all the eight nights of Hanukkah, continuing the practice of honoring and showcasing the rich cultural and religious diversity within Lake Forest,” it concluded.
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A menorah lighting event was held by Chabad of Lake Forest in December 2023. (Chabad of Lake Forest)
Rabbi Moshe Spalter of Chabad of Lake Forest told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that 2023 was the “first time that we actually had the event there, and it was the first time we had the menorah up there for the whole eight days of Chanukah.”
“They were excited about the idea last year but this year I guess they put some more thought into it and changed their mind,” he said.
Spalter said he would prefer a menorah to be allowed to stay up in the city for the full eight days of Hanukkah.
Last year, the menorah at Market Square in Lake Forest, Ill., was allowed to remain for the duration of Hanukkah, according to Rabbi Moshe Spalter. (Chabad of Lake Forest)
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“We have been trying to get the city to do it, it’s not so simple and at this point that it’s so close to Hanukkah we are just hoping that over the next year we will start to get to work on it right away and hopefully by next year they will be able to allow it,” he told Fox News Digital.
“I encourage everybody to come and show up and make this event a memorable one to the City of Lake Forest,” Spalter also said. “It’s a nice event and especially with all the noise that has been going on I think it’s great for the community to get together and come and celebrate all of us.”
The City of Lake Forest did not immediately respond Tuesday to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
