r Editor's Letter December Intrigue A gain, Berkley residents confront their brand of December dilemma: where to publicly display a creche once owned by the city. Again, residents come down on both sides of this highly charged matter of the manger. Again, the ACLU looms large in the raging debate. The standoff will culminate in a citywide vote on Nov.6. A petition by residents brought the bal- lot question to amend the city charter. It would compel the city to install a creche on city hall property from the Monday following Thanksgiving to the following Jan. 6. The Jewish community has more important concerns than seeking a toehold in the controversy over creches on public land as a violation of church-state separation. But nonpublic grounds do seem a more palatable spot for displays that depict Jesus' birth. For us to remain silent and not oppose the principle of a creche — the infant Jesus, Mary and Joseph — on city hall property is to create a slippery slope that could blaze a path for genu- inely offensive displays by cults on municipal grounds. So the dispute isn't harmless. It has legs. people, favor the new creche arrangement to fend off an expensive legal fight. But some residents remain rankled that the ACLU disrupted their small town. They say that because Christmas is a national holiday, celebrating it publicly should be legal. Yes, America has a Christian foundation. But it's wrong to say we were founded as a Christian nation. Even Thomas Jefferson was skeptical about Christianity and arguably wasn't Christian. Still, our founding fathers, whatever their individu- al religious beliefs, adopted a constitution that protected and promoted religious freedom; thus American Jews have been allowed to live freely and prosper. Jefferson himself conceived the famous "wall of separation between church and state' Election Run-Up Not surprisingly, the rich multiculturalism of America has made the public display of creches a white-hot issue. The ACLU hasn't weighed in this year, obviously laying low until the Nov. 6 vote. I echo its take on a constitutional man- date against government involvement in religion although I don't share its ardor as the self-appointed creche overseer and its penchant for intimidation through lawsuits. I keep hearing that a Berkley City Hall creche would have secularized holiday symbols to make the display comply with the law. The problem is that there's nothing secular about a creche. Secular adornment seems out of place by a creche anyway. The nativity is central to the religious aspect of Christmas. I don't want to see the scene, significant as it is, on land home to a government building. Period. Interestingly, the Birmingham Bloomfield Chai Center didn't stir any controversy this fall when it erected a privately funded sukkah in Birmingham's Shain Park. The autumn- harvest theme of the sukkah probably helped negate public concern. At The Core I don't find a creche itself to be offensive; it has both histori- cal and religious meaning. Only its placement matters to me. The nativity looks great outside churches and private homes. It would raise all sorts of red flags, however, outside a govern- ment building. Berkley ballot proponents in Berkley Citizens Vote YES to Christmas Holiday, with legal support from the Ann Arbor- based Thomas More Law Center, a nonprofit conservative Christian organization, argue that U.S. Supreme Court rulings allow a "secularized" Christmas The nativity is central to the religious aspect of holiday display. Such a display might feature the nativity along with secular ornaments like gift Christmas. I don't want to see the scene, significant as packages, colored lights, a "Seasons Greetings" sign and a Santa Claus figure. it is, on land home to a government building. Period, In reality, high court rulings on religious dis- plays on public property lack the thread of consistency, mak- Last year, Southfield avoided religious favoritism by remov- ing them as open to interpretation as the First Amendment's ing a city-owned menorah from its holiday display. A cha- Establishment Clause, which governs the relationship between nukiah is a symbol commemorating the miracle of light that government and religion. followed Judah Maccabee's military victory over oppression when Syrian-Greeks defiled the Temple in Jerusalem. It's not a Enter ACLU major religious focal point; Chanukah itself is a minor Jewish The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan took Berkley holiday. Still, a city shouldn't own a menorah any more than it to task last year over the annual creche display outside the should own a creche. city hall. Rather than fight the ACLU, the city council chose to By foregoing a church-state conflict when it comes to gov- call for giving the plastic-figure creche to the Berkley Clergy ernment-owned creches, menorahs and other clear religious Association (BCA) for display on church property. The creche symbols, the general community can stay focused on more had taken its familiar spot on Coolidge, south of 12 Mile, for substantive local issues, including interfaith relationship 23 years until the ACLU decided to get involved. building, helping the downtrodden and preserving the envi- The BCA is right: "As an interfaith clergy association, we ronment. ! take umbrage with the concept that the government should direct or decide where and when we mark our respective 0 : Would a creche outside your city, 1— • religious celebrations, and what should be displayed, and how township or village hall offend you? N our various religious symbols are to be used." Signers of the I— Z z Does the ACLU's vigilance over public BCNs 2006 statement included Rabbi Joseph Klein of Temple O 0 religious displays bother you? Emanu-El in neighboring Oak Park. a. Most of the elected leaders in Berkley, a city of 15,500 Tilt L I ON BROADWAT'S AWARD-•INNING REST ■ OSICH jarc 28th Annual ):I0 SUNDAY DEC 2 1 PM MATINEE DETROIT OPERA HOUSE For individual or corporate sponsorship information, contact Eric Adelman 248.538.6610 x 343 ericadelman@ jarc.org Season Ticket Holders: For information on exchanging season tickets, contact Judy Burnett 248538.6610 x304 judyburnett@jarc.org 30301 Northwestern Suite 100 Farmington Hills, MI 48334 www.jarc.org October 25 2007 A5