SANTA ANA : Menorah Will Be Installed in Park

After a three-year hiatus, the orthodox Jewish group Chabad will be installing a 5-by-6-foot menorah at a Santa Ana park today, on the eve of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

Chabad will install a steel candelabrum at Sasscer Park, which faces City Hall and the State Building on Santa Ana Boulevard. Chabad chose to install its menorah, which is regarded as a symbol of Judaism, in Santa Ana because it is the county seat and it is where the group has waged battles to install the menorah at the park, said Rabbi David Eliezrie, a spokesman for Chabad.

Eliezrie said Chabad was granted permission to install its menorah by the city’s Parks and Recreation Agency.

“The menorah has a universal message for all of society. It represents the concept of religious freedom,” he said.

Not everyone agrees.

Three years ago, Santa Ana withdrew a permit allowing Chabad to install its menorah, which holds nine candles, at the park after a protest by the American Civil Liberties Union, which contended the city was supporting a religious symbol in violation of the constitutionally required separation of church and state.

ACLU attorney Rebecca Jurado said she was unaware that Chabad was installing the menorah, and could not comment.

The Supreme Court ruled in July that menorah displays were constitutional.

Last Wednesday, Chabad members installed a 250-pound brass candelabrum next to a 21-foot tall Christmas tree at Los Angeles City Hall after a two-year ban.