ACLU to county: Get a Christmas tree or else
By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer
WAILUKU ? It probably shouldn?t take the threat of legal action to get into the holiday spirit, but that was what spurred Maui County into action.
County workers raised a festive tree at the Kalana O Maui Building Wednesday with just five days to go before Christmas, after receiving a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union warning that the existing holiday display of a Hanukkah menorah was unconstitutional. The letter threatened a federal lawsuit if the display was not corrected.
?That?s fine, to have the menorah up, but it needed to be part of a holiday display that was secular in nature,? said Deputy Corporation Counsel Traci Fujita-Villarosa. ?We?re just adding to the holiday decorations.?
County information officer Ellen Pelissero said the lighted menorah was set up earlier this month after members of the Maui Mitzvah Center, a Jewish outreach organization, asked if they could display it at the county building.
?The rabbi asked the mayor if he could put a menorah up and he said sure,? she said. ?I guess nobody else asked. So it appeared it was an endorsement of one (religion) when it really wasn?t.?
The county had meant to put up Christmas lights this year but ?they sort of fell through the cracks,? Pelissero said.
In its letter to the county sent Tuesday, the ACLU cited case law that found government displays of religious symbols on their own could be perceived as an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. But government displays that included secular holiday symbols, like Christmas trees, alongside religious symbols, did not endorse religion.
?The goal of the ACLU is not to ruin the celebration of Hanukkah or any other religious holiday, but rather to ensure that the government does not endorse the views of one religion to the exclusion of others,? wrote ACLU Legal Director Lois Perrin.
The county installed an 11-foot Monterey pine tree harvested from Kula Botanical Garden on the Kalana O Maui grounds late Wednesday afternoon.
?I just think it was pretty funny,? said Helen McCord, an owner of the Botanical Garden.
She said she scoured her private Upcountry tree farm for a suitable specimen before settling on the estimated eight-year-old tree for the county.
?The 20th of December is kind of late for getting a large tree, because a lot of our large trees have already headed off to the hotels, condos and businesses,? she said. ?We had to do a lot of scrounging to find one.?
Rabbi Sholom Schusterman, who runs the Maui Mitzvah Center, wasn?t fazed by the last-minute addition of the Christmas tree to the display, and supported the action ?100 percent.?
?I think it?s wonderful,? he said.
His goal in displaying the menorah was to reach out to practicing Jews on Maui while also raising awareness about Hanukkah with the general public. Displaying a tree went along with the holiday traditions, he said.
?It?s just in the spirit of holiday festivities, and educating the community about different celebratory events,? he said.
Still, he added that he hoped the ACLU would be as diligent about promoting diversity in places where only Christmas trees or Christian symbols were displayed.
?I think the ACLU should try to put menorahs in places where there aren?t menorahs,? he said.
The Mitzvah Center has also installed menorah displays at Queen Ka?ahumanu Center, in downtown Hana and at Kahului Airport, while also distributing menorahs to interested groups or families. Gov. Linda Lingle last week said the state would allow menorahs at state airports alongside other holiday displays.
In addition, Schusterman is raising awareness about the Jewish holiday by adorning his car with a menorah to turn it into a rolling ?Hanukkah Mobile.?
Hanukkah celebrates an ancient victory of Jews against an invading army, and the miracle of a single day?s supply of oil illuminating the temple?s menorah for eight days.
?It?s a moral lesson that miracles happen and can happen to all people,? Schusterman said.
He said he was encouraged by the positive response he?d received from the Maui community.
?I?ve actually found Maui to be very embracing,? he said. ?I?ve continually experienced a tremendous amount of welcoming from all people.?
At Kalana O Maui, a crew from the parks department had the tree up and lit by late afternoon. Cost of the tree and decorations ran to about $250, according to mayoral assistant Adele Rugg.
?It?s beautiful. There are white lights around the tree, and a bow with streamers,? she said.
But there are no ornaments.
?They would blow off. The wind was blowing 50 miles per hour last week,? she said.
Ilima Loomis can be reached at
iloomis@mauinews.com.
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