Greenwich, CT – A perennial candidate for public office and outspoken critic of Israel’s alliance with the U.S. is suing the town of Greenwich on the grounds that it breached the constitutional barrier between church and state when it allowed a bar mitzvah to take place at Town Hall.
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Democrat Lee Whitnum, a 2012 and 2010 Senate hopeful from Greenwich, filed a lawsuit in Bridgeport federal court charging the town with violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which says that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.
First Selectman Peter Tesei is also named as a defendant as the town’s chief elected official in the lawsuit, which raised objections to the displaying of the Star of David on the Israeli flag in front of Town Hall.
The bar mitzvah coincided with the May 13 celebration of Israeli Independence Day by the UJA Federation of Greenwich.
“We can’t have a double standard,” Whitnum said in a statement from her campaign. “If you can’t have a Christian cross on a municipal building, you can’t display the Star of David there either. I mean seriously what was he thinking — a bar mitzvah? On town property!
Tesei issued a statement, “At the request of Greenwich residents, the town of Greenwich annually recognizes various nationalities and ethnic groups and celebrates their heritage,” Tesei said. “For example, the Irish flag is raised on St. Patrick’s Day, the Italian flag on Columbus Day, the Filipino flag in recognition of their Independence Day, the French flag on Bastille Day along with the Swedish flag, Norwegian flag and others as requests come forth from our residents.”
Pamela Ehrenkranz, executive director of the UJA Federation of Greenwich acknowledged that there was a bar mitzvah component to event, which she said was held for the benefit of a visiting exchange student from Israel who hadn’t yet experienced the rite of passage from boyhood to manhood because his father died when he was 13.
“It did not resemble a traditional bar mitzvah,” Ehrenkranz said. “In a synagogue there are certain blessings that are made and certain prayers that are said and we did not do that.”
please help me know the religious aspects of the magan dovid
Having country flags is not religious having a bar mitzva is
I do not think there is religious aspect to the Mogen Dovid. Sorry to these anti Jews but this is much like their saying the X-mas tree has no religious significance.
The joke is that a bar Mitzvah in Shul has religious meaning, the party is just a party!
This sure helps us to see who the wretched anti Jews are.
These types are more commonly referred to as “perennial trouble makers”
Clearly it was all bar and not mitzvah so I don’t see the objection. Just another party.
This machashaife is just ticked off ’cause she didn’t get an invite……..
This was a “secular” bar mitzvah so it doesn’t count in the same way as hold a high mass in city hall. If the local muslims wanted to shecht a goat in the city square to celebrate one of their yom toveim, it should be allowed.
the anti-semite rearing it’s ugly head is all this is!
If she’s so concerned about the separation between church and state, she should wake up and realize how much christianity is forced on public school students. As a singer in a public school choir, I was constantly having to deal with singing church music IN SCHOOL, which is a state institution. A star on the flag of a country is not meant to be a religious symbol like those words I was forced to endure were. She should go fly a kite!
‘Having’ a Bar-Mitzva in Judaism is kind of self contradictory. It happens by itself on the birthday.
Ed Koch was right but didn’t go far enough. punish all Democrats for their anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, hyper-secularist, anti-American world view