By PETER CAULFIELD
Special to The CJN
VANCOUVER — The city council of Richmond, B.C., has voted to change its policy regarding the display of religious symbols at City Hall, allowing a chanukiyah to be lit their during the eight days of Chanukah.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the city’s old policy allowed religious symbols to be displayed at the city’s library and cultural centre, which is close to, but separate from, City Hall.
He said few, if any, religious symbols were ever displayed at the city’s cultural centre, however.
The mayor said he welcomed the policy change, because the old policy was “outdated,” adding that, by and large, the change has been applauded by Richmond residents.
“When the new City Hall was built in 2000, the intention was that it be a central meeting place for all the people of Richmond,” he said. “Richmond has a very diverse population, and all of our residents need to feel respected and included.”
Indeed, City Hall has not been without symbolic representations of the holiday season.
Since 2000, it has hosted a month-long Winter Wonderland in December that features a display of 32 Christmas trees sponsored by Richmond merchants.
The City Hall chanukiyah is being provided by Chabad Lubavitch of Richmond, which pushed for last month’s policy change.
Chabad’s Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman said that his group “wrote to City Hall several times over the past few years. The last letter [requesting to set up a chanukiyah] was sent in October 2004.”
Every Chanukah, the Lubavitch movement holds public candlelighting ceremonies in cities across Canada and around the world, including one outside the downtown Vancouver Art Gallery.
“This has been done at the urging of the [late Lubavitcher] Rebbe [Menachem Mendel Schneerson] in order to fulfill the obligation of Chanukah of pirsumei nisa, the publicizing of the miracle of Chanukah and the message it carries,” Rabbi Baitelman said.
“Richmond City Hall is a public place, where every citizen of the city is represented and ‘owns’ a part of it as well,” he said.
“What better place to publicize the message of Chanukah, a message that is not limited to Jewish people, but in fact applies to all. The Chanukah menorah has a universal message – the power of one little candle to light up the whole world.”
Located south of Vancouver across the Fraser River, Richmond is home to 170,000 people, including 4,000 to 5,000 Jews, or roughly 20 per cent of Greater Vancouver’s Jewish community.
Special to The CJN
VANCOUVER — The city council of Richmond, B.C., has voted to change its policy regarding the display of religious symbols at City Hall, allowing a chanukiyah to be lit their during the eight days of Chanukah.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the city’s old policy allowed religious symbols to be displayed at the city’s library and cultural centre, which is close to, but separate from, City Hall.
He said few, if any, religious symbols were ever displayed at the city’s cultural centre, however.
The mayor said he welcomed the policy change, because the old policy was “outdated,” adding that, by and large, the change has been applauded by Richmond residents.
“When the new City Hall was built in 2000, the intention was that it be a central meeting place for all the people of Richmond,” he said. “Richmond has a very diverse population, and all of our residents need to feel respected and included.”
Indeed, City Hall has not been without symbolic representations of the holiday season.
Since 2000, it has hosted a month-long Winter Wonderland in December that features a display of 32 Christmas trees sponsored by Richmond merchants.
The City Hall chanukiyah is being provided by Chabad Lubavitch of Richmond, which pushed for last month’s policy change.
Chabad’s Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman said that his group “wrote to City Hall several times over the past few years. The last letter [requesting to set up a chanukiyah] was sent in October 2004.”
Every Chanukah, the Lubavitch movement holds public candlelighting ceremonies in cities across Canada and around the world, including one outside the downtown Vancouver Art Gallery.
“This has been done at the urging of the [late Lubavitcher] Rebbe [Menachem Mendel Schneerson] in order to fulfill the obligation of Chanukah of pirsumei nisa, the publicizing of the miracle of Chanukah and the message it carries,” Rabbi Baitelman said.
“Richmond City Hall is a public place, where every citizen of the city is represented and ‘owns’ a part of it as well,” he said.
“What better place to publicize the message of Chanukah, a message that is not limited to Jewish people, but in fact applies to all. The Chanukah menorah has a universal message – the power of one little candle to light up the whole world.”
Located south of Vancouver across the Fraser River, Richmond is home to 170,000 people, including 4,000 to 5,000 Jews, or roughly 20 per cent of Greater Vancouver’s Jewish community.
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