Beverly Hills to Allow Park Menorah Display : Religion: The Hanukkah decoration meets constitutional tests because it is a secular symbol. A cross, though, can’t be displayed for Christmas because its symbolism is religious.

Treading gingerly into what one council member called a delicate issue, the Beverly Hills City Council decided unanimously Tuesday to allow the display of a Hanukkah menorah on public property during the holiday season but denied a request to display a cross.

The council acted on the advice of a memorandum from City Atty. Greg Stepanicich and a recommendation by Councilman Robert K. Tanenbaum, whom Mayor Max Salter called “our in-house constitutional lawyer.”

Tanenbaum, in a lengthy review of recent Supreme Court and case law decisions, explained to his colleagues at a study session that the courts have in recent years interpreted display of a cross to violate the separation of church and state.

The courts have declared the cross to be an overt religious symbol, he said, with clear associations with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, and thus Christian theology.

By contrast, he said, holiday decorations such as Christmas trees and Nativity scenes have been interpreted by the courts as secular symbols relating to the history of Christmas as a national celebration rather than a religious holiday. The courts have made a similar interpretation of menorahs.

The 28-foot-high menorah that will be displayed is to be provided, at no cost to the city, by Chabad of California, which has placed a menorah in Beverly Hills for the last two years. It will be located in the Beverly Gardens, on Santa Monica Boulevard between Beverly and Canon drives.

The request to erect a cross had been submitted by Jeanette Grattan Parker, a private party.

Vice Mayor Allan Alexander said, “We must make sure we keep the separation of church and state,” and suggested that after this year, the council should review the “time, place and manner” of such displays to comply with the law. Alexander said he thought the scale of the menorah might be too large for the park location.

Councilwoman Vicki Reynolds said that this “very delicate issue comes up each year. We should find a seasonal way to celebrate the cultural expression of the holidays, rather than the religious.”

Salter said: “All five of the council members are Jewish. The last thing we would want to do is uphold one religion against another.”

After the study session, Rabbi Mendel Itkin of Chabad of California said he was elated at the decision. He said he viewed the menorah as a secular symbol and was “very happy to be continuing the tradition of Hanukkah festivities in the park.”

Contacted Wednesday, Rabbi Baruch Hecht, also of Chabad of California, said that in addition to storytelling and music, a celebration planned for Dec. 24 will include the recitation of blessings over the menorah’s candles.

Parker could not be reached for comment.