Religious Displays

In response to your Dec. 9 article, “Display of Lights,” a correction:

Jews of all persuasions do not find the public lighting of the Hanukkah menorah a violation. It’s when Chabad and others insist the ceremony be on public property, such as city parks, etc., that we part company. Most Jews believe that its use of such platforms violates the important constitutional principle embodied in the First Amendment with regard to the separation of church and state.

In the United States, the American majority is but a banding of minorities of special interests, including a goodly number who insist the church-state wall of separation be weakened or torn down. That error in judgment could lead to the tragedy that has plagued people with differences throughout history. It’s unfortunate that the zeal for Chabad’s own ideal blinds them to this reality.

HYMAN H. HAVES, Pacific Palisades