Police Ban Christmas Decorations
Source: The Orlando Sentinel, November 11th 2000
St. Petersburg Police Ban Christmas Decorations
Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG — The St. Petersburg Police Department has banned holiday decorations and celebrations this year after a sergeant filed a religious discrimination complaint over Christian displays.
It means no Christmas tree, no Santa Claus, no displays of any kind with a religious connotation.
“Grinches. Grinches. Nasty grinches,” groused Officer Gabriele Ritzheimer from the steps of the police station after a memo was distributed Thursday outlining the new rules.
“I want to make sure we`re sensitive to everybody`s religious beliefs, so we don`t offend anybody,” Police Chief Goliath Davis III said.
Sgt. Greg Totz, a 25-year veteran officer, filed a religious discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in mid-October.
Totz, who is Jewish, has complained in the past about overtly Christian displays.
His attorney, Diane Bailey, said she thinks the department has taken the separation of church and state too far.
Steve Benen of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State said although government agencies can ban Nativity scenes, Christmas trees have never been considered religious
Source: Newsday, December 21st 2000
Chanukah Burns Bright
Businesses feel the rush as the Festival of Lights begins
by Michael Rothfeld, Staff Writer
Inside a frosty industrial building in Deer Park, a man in a green and orange rubber suit drills ornate detail into a menorah fashioned from a 300- pound block of ice, one of about 15 Chanukah sculptures his company will ship across the region this year.
At Chai & Mazel in Commack, customers line up six deep to buy 18 varieties of dripless candles and toys such as “Skateboarding Dreidel with Baby.”
And at Donut Delite in Cedarhurst, oil simmers through the night — breaking only for the Sabbath — to keep up with the demand, which can reach 18,000 donuts a day.
“Chanukah is it,” said donut king Moshe Orlansky, who even ships frozen kosher treats to the Midwest during Chanukah. “No life. No home. No kids. No family. All you see is donuts and dough and oil.”
This is the Chanukah rush — for retailers and wholesalers catering to a Jewish clientele, Christmas is not the only holiday in town. The eight-day celebration, also known as the Festival of Lights, begins tonight.
Though some Jewish spiritual leaders say Chanukah is independently popular, merchants see a correlation with Christmas. Pauline Goldberg, the owner of Chai & Mazel, said intermarried customers may give out Jewish presents under the tree. And Dawn Rella, a partner at Ice Sculpture Designs in Deer Park, said hotels such as the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan, which took two ice menorahs last week, want egalitarian displays.
“We say, ‘We’ll send you a Santa and we’ll send you a dreidel,’” Rella said.
Chanukah, which ends Dec. 29, recalls the struggle for religious freedom of the Maccabees, Jewish warriors who fought the Syrian occupants of Israel between 165 and 163 B.C.
Each night of the holiday, Jews sing songs, spin tops known as dreidels and light one more candle on the menorah, called a chanukiyah when used on Chanukah. They also eat foods made with oil to remember the Chanukah miracle — that a day’s supply of oil lit an altar for eight days after the Maccabees recaptured the Jewish Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
“Chanukah means to rededicate ourselves, just like the Jews did in those days,” said Rabbi Tuvia Teldon, director of Chabad Lubavitch of Long Island. “The same things applies to these days as well.”
At Zion Lion Ltd. in Huntington, the Rugrats menorah, with characters from the children’s cartoon, has sold out. But Manny Menorah, an electronic counterpart, was still in stock on Tuesday.
“Mom, check this out,” said Anna Fleiss, 11, of Huntington, as she used a small wand to light bulbs on one menorah. “Cool,” said Donna Fleiss, 45, from across the store. “Don’t break anything.”
Menorahs are not the only timeless Chanukah traditions to take a modern twist. At the Brooklyn Knish Co. on West Montauk Highway in Lindenhurst, latkes — potato pancakes — come in apple, pesto, zucchini, corn, chocolate and more.
At the shop, in a converted pizza place, it’s shred, flour, fry, flip and bake for David Abrams and crew. The operation sends frozen and fresh latkes to Jewish organizations as far east as Montauk Point and to Manhattan’s high-end gourmet food stores.
For most of the year, Abrams makes only knishes, or Jewish pastries with assorted fillings. But several weeks before Chanukah, he switches to latkes, at $1.25 each. Abrams bought three tons of Long Island potatoes for the holiday, and predicts that 30,000 pancakes will go out next week.
“It’s all at once,” said Abrams, 40, of Merrick, in a white plastic apron and a hair net. “And then, after the holiday, you’re not going to see anybody for a month to two months.”
