The earlier decision to not display the menorah, given to Jewish community leaders last week, ignited considerable criticism
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Moncton city council voted unanimously Monday to reverse a decision made in a private meeting and renew the tradition of displaying the menorah and the nativity scene in front of city hall.
The council chamber was filled as a motion was made to reinstate the practice of displaying religious symbols on the plaza in front of city hall. The decision to remove religious symbols meant the menorah, a symbol of the Jewish faith; and the nativity scene, a symbol of Christian faith, were not displayed this year.
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The motion passed unanimously, followed by a separate motion to instruct the city’s inclusion committee to formulate a policy to deal with the display of symbols of other religions in the future.
As an inclusive society, Coun. Daniel Bourgeois said, citizens who follow other religious should also be able to display their symbols at appropriate times of the year. That motion also passed unanimously.
Before the vote, retired provincial court judge Irwin Lampert, who is past president of Moncton’s Tiferes Israel synagogue, told council that Moncton’s Jewish community may be small but its members have made significant contributions.
He said the decision to not display the menorah this year resulted in hundreds of emails and letters from across the country, and from local cabinet ministers, and an online petition that attracted more than 6,000 names.
The menorah is a seven-branched candle that serves as a beacon of hope during the celebration of Hanukkah, which begins Thursday. Lampert said removing it from public view left the Jewish population marginalized. He said the community was not asking for special treatment, but a continuation of a symbol that has been seen at city hall for more than 20 years.
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Shawn Annis, pastor of the Faith Christian Fellowship in Moncton, also asked council to bring back the nativity display, which depicts the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger.
Mayor Dawn Arnold apologized Monday for the city’s decision not to install the menorah and nativity scene in front of city hall.
“As a growing city, Moncton is continuously evolving its posture with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion,” Arnold said in a prepared statement e-mailed to the Times & Transcript Monday afternoon. “The City wanted to be more inclusive toward our community by repositioning these faith symbols; however, we obviously fell short in this transition. Despite our best intentions to do the right thing, we acted too quickly.”
She continued: “We recognize the lack of reflection and understanding of the impact of this decision has had on our community. We apologize if our actions showed a lack of support toward any members of our community.”
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Last week, Jewish community leaders said they were told by Moncton’s mayor that the decision had been made not to display a menorah at city hall.
There has been condemnation Monday from politicians. Among them was Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre, who wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “Conservatives stand with Jewish Canadians against hatred and bigotry.”
“What a shame that Moncton City Hall backed down to antisemitism and is not displaying a menorah for the first time in 20 years,” Poilievre wrote.
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Some other federal politicians added their voices to the criticism. Dominic LeBlanc, the Liberal public safety minister, urged council to reconsider the decision.
“I join Moncton residents in expressing my disappointment over the City’s decision to break with tradition and not light the Hanukkah menorah in front of City Hall this year,” LeBlanc said.
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The criticism wasn’t limited to federal politicians, either. Bryan Butler, a Moncton councillor, told National Post in an interview that he disagreed with the decision to not display the menorah.
“I don’t know why it was brought to the table and that’s why we’re having this meeting,” he said.
He said city staff relied on a 2015 Supreme Court decision that ruled against holding prayers at municipal council meetings.
“I didn’t agree with (city staff) using that as a reasoning,” Butler said.
Dave Steeves, another councillor, is expected to bring forward the motion, and Butler said he intends to second it. Over the weekend, Steeves wrote in a Facebook post that he did not support the decision to remove the menorah.
“As a reverend in the Moncton faith community, I believe that all religious symbols ought to be displayed at the appropriate time of year as a gesture of inclusiveness and welcome,” Steeves wrote. “The timing of this, just days before Hanukkah, is extremely insensitive and callous towards members of the Jewish community.”
The Jewish community in Canada has felt intense pressure in the nearly two months since Hamas attacked Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave. There has been a sharp rise in antisemitism in Canada since the attack, and the subsequent war between Israel and Hamas. The fighting has killed 15,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry. The figure cannot be verified. In Israel, the official death toll stands at around 1,200.
— With additional reporting from Farkhounda Azizullah, National Post
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