Havering Council scraps Hanukkah menorah outside town hall due to ‘rising tensions’
A London council has scrapped plans to erect a Hanukkah menorah due to “rising tensions” amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Havering Council had planned to mark the upcoming Jewish festival by installing the symbolic structure outside its town hall, but has since scrapped the proposal, claiming it could “risk further inflaming tensions” within communities.
Instead, the council said there would be a “temporary installation” and an event celebrated to mark the beginning of Hanukkah.
In a letter to the Council leader Ray Morgon, local Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell voiced his “grave concern” at the decision.
“Should this be true, this would be a grave insult to the Jewish community in Romford,” he said.
“Fundamentally this is a matter of religious freedom, and has nothing to do with current affairs in the Middle East.”
Mr Rosindell went on to say Havering Council allowed the public celebrations of other festivals, including Diwali, and said he hoped the council would permit the public celebration of Hanukkah too.
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A Campaign Against Antisemitism spokesperson has since called on the council to reverse its decision, calling it “cowardly”.
“At a time when nearly seven in 10 British Jews feel afraid to express their identity in public, this is a monumental dereliction of duty,” they said.
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, the Community Security Trust (CST) has received reports of a record 1,747 antisemitic incidents across the UK – the highest ever total reported to the Jewish charity across a 54-day period.
Havering Council has dismissed any accusations of antisemitism as “categorically untrue”, adding that “such statements are likely to incite further unrest in our communities”.