Virginia Festival Cancels Chanukah Menorah Lighting Unless Local Jewish Community Calls For a Ceasefire in Gaza

A Chanukah Menorah lighting which was scheduled to take place on December 10th at the 2nd Sundays Art and Music Festival in Williamsburg, Virginia has been cancelled. 

According to the Virginia Gazette:

Shirley Vermillion, the festival’s founder, said 2nd Sundays are inclusive to different religions or cultures, and the menorah lighting “seemed very inappropriate” given current events in Israel and Gaza. She said the board would prefer to steer clear of religious affiliations. In the past, she said, Christian and other religious groups ask to perform at 2nd Sundays, and all of those requests were denied.

“The concern is of folks feeling like we are siding with a group over the other … not a direction we ever decide to head,” Vermillion said.

Yet the United Jewish Community of The Virginia Peninsula indicates the organizer of the 2nd Sunday Art and Music Festival was very much taking sides:

The Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula is shocked and alarmed at LoveLight Placemaking’s decision to cancel a menorah lighting scheduled for the Second Sundays Art and Music Festival on Dec 10 in Williamsburg – claiming it did not want to appear to choose sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict. To be clear, the menorah lighting, which was to be led by a local community rabbi, had nothing to do with Israel or the conflict. 

Yet, appallingly, the event organizer claimed that a Chanukah celebration would send a message that the festival was "supporting the killing/bombing of thousands of men, women, and children," -- and even went a step further, by offering to reinstate the event if it was done under a banner calling for a ceasefire. 

We should be very clear: it is antisemitic to hold Jews collectively responsible for Israel’s policies and actions, and to require a political litmus test for Jews’ participation in community events that have nothing to do with Israel. Those standards would never be applied to another community. 

In other words, the Menorah lighting could proceed only there was a call for a ceasefire. If this isn't taking sides, then what is?

This is latest example of a Chanukah Menorah lighting being cancelled. In the U.K., there was the town council of the London Borough of Havering though it would be reversed. In Canada, there is the Mayor of Moncton, New Brunswick cancelling local Menorah lighting. 

Chanukah begins on December 7th. We can expect more of this nonsense in the coming days.