Thu 11 Dec 2008
Stevenson Ranch Menorah to be installed today after uproar
Posted by admin under Original Site [6] Comments
From Rockefeller Center in New York to Washington D.C. to the Valencia Town Center Mall, Menorah’s have been a part of December holiday celebrations regularly. After a major blunder on the part of this year’s community Holiday celebration organizer the Stevenson Ranch community Menorah will be erected at mid-day to today, Thursday December 11, 2008.
As was reported in The Beacon first, the Stevenson Ranch Community Association sponsored a holiday celebration on Sunday, December 7, but did not include the Menorah which had been a community tradition for many years. The event organizer, HOA President Greg Waugh, refused to include the Menorah as part of the celebration claiming that there would only be a “holiday” tree.
Rabbi Mark Blazer of Temple Beth Ami sent out an email blast with a link to the Monday Beacon story to his congregation and other interested parties which helped to mobilize the community. As a result, several residents offered to help and a member of the Temple Beth Ami congregation has volunteered to install the Menorah.
In the wake of the storm of controversy this week, HOA President Greg Waugh has been trying to do damage control via emails and press interviews. Several HOA board members have complained that those mails are not properly being vetted with the full board.
Rather than a straight apology for the holiday celebration slight Mr. Waugh has offered up several explanations of his rational for excluding the Menorah from the event he organized. In an email sent out yesterday, Waugh says; “……the tree with lights is not a “Christmas Tree”…….The tree is simply a “holiday tree” that represents all faiths within our community.”
Several residents have commented that that explanation is just “backpedaling” on the part of Greg Waugh. One resident said; “I am sorry, but 99.9% of Jews, with the exception of course of inter-faith marriages, do not put up a “holiday tree”. Therefore, for you to make that statement is not very accurate.”
Stevenson Ranch resident BJ Kaufman who was interviewed on KCBS, Channel 2 News yesterday and commented on a Beacon posting said; “That this is a ‘holiday tree’ is bunk. The tree is and always has been a symbol of Christmas. Don’t short change the importance of the meaning of the holiday. She went on to say; “That there were no volunteers to put up the Menorah seems odd as there has never been a shortage in years past.”
With the Menorah now going up today some residents are now wondering if there will be a public apology issued by the full Stevenson Ranch Community Association Board of directors.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
[...] Menorah/Christmas Drama in Stevenson Ranch: For years, a seven foot Menorah has been part of the holiday display in Stevenson Ranch, but this year, according to Dave Bossert and others, the Home Owners Association president refused to display the Jewish religious symbol, which is used during the Hannukah celebration. In a lengthy post over at WRB, Bossert says HOA President Greg Waugh gave no good reason for refusing to display the Menorah. In a Signal report, Waugh says the Menorah is a religious symbol, and the HOA only put up a secular “Holiday Tree” this year. “I don’t feel it’s my place to put up the menorah because I am not Jewish and it’s not the HOA’s place to put up religious decorations,” Waugh said. A Rabbi says the “Jewish community is up in arms” over the matter and the HOA says Christians are upset that the tree is being called a Holiday Tree rather than a Christmas Tree. For what it’s worth, Waugh says that the Menorah will be displayed by a volunteer but West Side Jews say the damage has already been done. I’m unclear on if the Menorah will be placed in the same area as the “Holiday Tree.” Oy Vey! Signal, WRB, KHTS UPDATE: Bossert says the Menorah will be installed today. [...]
December 11th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Dave,
Thank you for reporting and exposing this unfair decision. I am glad that Mr. Waugh was able to reflect on the ramifications of his prior choices as well as his previous comments.
Now let’s all call a decorated tree what it should be called: a Christmas Tree! a simple Google search reveals how “holiday trees” have been replaced by Christmas trees again at municipalities all over the country. It was a bad idea to begin with and trying to use a generic “holiday tree” as a replacement for another group’s symbols and traditions is horrible. The bottom line is that the Jewish community in Stevenson Ranch pays their HOA dues like everyone else. For TEN years we’ve looked forward to seeing that Menorah across from the waterfall.
It’s the holidays, can we all avoid trampling on each other for a few weeks?
December 11th, 2008 at 11:13 am
What I read in this is a story about a guy who doesn’t like the Menorah and what it represents. This is sadly a very old story — it goes back to the oldest resentment in recorded history.
December 11th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Comparing a Christmas tree to a Menorah is an unfair compasion. A Menorah is a religious symbol, a Christmas tree is more a commercial one. A more apt comparsion would seem to be a Nativity scene to a Menorah and a Christmas tree to a Dreidel. The Nativity and Menorah being the central religous images of the holidays and the Christmas tree and Dreidel the more secular sides.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Maybe this awkward scene would be a good excuse for detailing what a Menorah really represents. Considering one of the main reasons why Jesus was crucified by the Romans — he was so Jewish in the Isaiah and Jeremiah traditions of reading the riot act to the worldly — I am sure Christians like myself would benefit from a good history of the Menorah here.
December 12th, 2008 at 5:34 am
I lived in the Santa Clarita valley for over 15 years and have seen it grow to where it is today. Now this week it seems we’re back to square one. I have since moved to Northern Arizona where some people have never seen a Jewish person. At least these people are curious and ask questions. What Mr. Waugh did was just terrible and my feeling is he needs to step down as president of the HOA.
Lets move on from here and enjoy our Holiday, be it Christmas, Hannukah, or what ever we celebrate.
Enjoy your Holiday
Mike