City Hall Menorah Display OKd by Court

An appeals court has ruled that the display of a Jewish menorah in the Los Angeles City Hall rotunda during the holiday season does not violate the U.S. and California constitutions.

In a ruling handed down Thursday, Justices Roger Boren, Campbell Lucas and Joyce Kennard of California’s 2nd Appellate Court concluded that the unlit Katowitz Menorah, “with its unique historical background, was much more of a museum piece than a symbol of religious worship” when the city agreed to display it, along with a Christmas tree, during the Hanukkah/Christmas seasons of 1983, 1984 and 1985.

The court said “the facts in this case demonstrate no governmental action which tends to ‘establish’ religion” in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“What clearly is suggested is that the city has illustrated its diversity, as well as its international and cultural eminence, by the variety of rotunda displays it permits,” the court said. “The United States Constitution requires no discouragement of that effort.

Promotes Image

“Indeed, it appears to us that the inclusion of the Katowitz Menorah during the winter holiday period promotes an image of a local government that is impartial toward religions.”

The menorah candelabrum, crafted by an early 19th-Century Italian artist, was presented after completion to the Great Synagogue in Katowitz, Poland, where it remained until World War II. Rescued from the Nazi Holocaust, it now belongs to Chabad, an orthodox Jewish group dedicated to a wide variety of social programs.

Chabad received permission to begin displaying the menorah in the rotunda in December, 1983. However, two years later, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit to block the display, arguing that it was unconstitutional.

The ACLU’s request for an injunction was denied, although the Superior Court did issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting display of a lighted menorah. The ACLU then filed an appeal, which the court turned down Thursday.