No equal rights for Christians?

Why should a state capitol building – or any other public facility, for that matter – use Jewish religious symbols to celebrate the holiday season while offering no visible Christian presence?

That question struck me with special force last December when I toured the historic Massachusetts State House overlooking Boston Common. Beside an ornate stairway at the very center of the building stood a huge silver menorah, or Hanukkah candelabrum, at least eight feet tall. A brightly lettered sign announced it as the gift of Chabad, the energetic Chassidic Jewish sect, to the speaker of the State House of Representatives – who happens to be Irish Catholic.

As an observant Jew myself, who enthusiastically supports the inspirational work of Chabad, I felt a surge of pride at this prominent display. I felt intrigued, however, by the absence of any Christmas symbols to balance the presence of the menorah, and so asked the tour guide if he could show me a nativity scene anywhere on the premises, or even a Christmas tree.

He shrugged his shoulders in response and mumbled some boilerplate about not displaying religious symbols in the state capitol.

"But what about the menorah?" I asked. "Isn't that a religious symbol?"

"Oh, no, that's secular!" he replied. "That's a symbol of tolerance and religious freedom. That's why they put it here."

This is nonsense, of course. The Hanukkah menorah pointedly recalls the similar light-stand that once served the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, constructed according to detailed specifications in the Bible. Unlike Christmas trees, or seven nativity scenes, the modern menorah serves a specific sacramental purpose: enabling Jews to fulfill the divine commandment to kindle lights on all eight nights of Hanukkah. I happen to believe that the menorah is a noble and beautiful symbol, but it is no more secular than a communion wafer.

The tour guide seemed sadly confused, and he also may have misinformed me about the absence of Christmas decorations. For all I know, site managers may have stashed a tree or a wreath or a miniature manger at some other, less conspicuous corner of the State House. Even so, the situation in Boston represented a growing trend across the country: greater public acceptance of religious expression when it involves minority faiths.

Like most Jews, I'm delighted to see menorahs now turning up in public buildings – including schools, courthouses, government offices and shopping centers. I feel ashamed, however, that many of these same facilities find it necessary to ban "controversial" Christian symbols with any religious significance at all – mandating reindeer and elves (if anything) rather than crosses or cr?ches.

According to the American Jewish Year Book, only 274,000 Jews live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts – 4.4 percent of the state population. This means that Christians outnumber Jews in the Bay State by a ratio of more than 20 to one. Why, then, should the overwhelming majority see signs of their faith banished from the public square, while Jews and other minority faiths command more attention than ever before?

President Bush recently hosted an iftar dinner at the White House in which he honored the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The administration even arranged for a muezzin, a traditional Muslim prayer caller, to chant the appropriate blessings before and after the meal. A few weeks later, the president held a gala Hannukah celebration in the executive mansion, serving kosher meat balls and announcing that, for the first time, a menorah would be lighted in the White House residence – as opposed to West Wing offices. Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, chortled that "people were calling on cellphones, saying 'I'm calling to wish you a Happy Hanukkah from the White House.'"

Such religious occasions draw few protests, and yet, when clergymen at the Bush Inaugural both mentioned the name Jesus Christ, Harvard's Alan Dershowitz, among others, penned an angry denunciation. No one described Jewish or Muslim celebrations as "controversial," but the beautiful cr?che that has graced the White House since 1967 has always provoked expressions of discomfort by militant "separationists."

The logic behind this double standard involves the fact that secularists feel unthreatened by demonstrations of Jewish or Muslim religiosity – these communities remain too small to impose a theocracy on the United States, even if they wanted to do so. Christians, on the other hand, frighten atheists with their celebrations and symbols precisely because they represent more than 90 percent of the country, as reported in recent surveys.

According to this argument, no one will feel pushed into observing a Jewish holiday by seeing a menorah at a mall, but many may feel coerced and guilt-tripped by Christian symbols and reminders.

Such thinking leads directly to the topsy-turvy situation that prevails in much of the country this year – in which a tiny minority, or even a single individual, can spoil holiday fun for an entire community, but majority sentiments are instantly disregarded. In St. Paul, Minn., a few families complained that red poinsettias amounted to a Christian symbol, so the County executive banned their traditional display at the courthouse. Meanwhile, when nearly all Americans – including, by the way, most Jewish Americans – feel offended by the use of government funds for an artwork that plunges a crucifix into a jar of urine, then their objections count for nothing.

Yes, religious minorities deserve recognition and protection in this pluralistic society, but our sensitivities and needs shouldn't take precedence over the cherished traditions of our Christian neighbors. It makes no sense for bureaucrats to take seriously the complaints of one disgruntled atheist protesting the display of a manger scene at a public park, while ignoring the complaints of 50 million Christians objecting to a Madonna smeared with elephant dung displayed at a government-funded museum.

Perhaps it requires a religious Jew to make the plea, but as we honor this joyous holiday season, isn't it appropriate that Christians should receive equal rights to official expressions of faith – and win equal respect for their religious symbols – in this overwhelmingly Christian country?

SPECIAL OFFER!
Medved brings American history alive!
24-tape set presents nation's story from the founders' perspective. Now available from WorldNetDaily's online store.