ICYMI: Virginia festival organizer rejects menorah lighting to avoid ‘choosing
a side’ in Israel-Hamas war




<[link removed]>



The Washington Times
<[link removed]>

By Mary Vought

December 14, 2023



This holiday season, a proposal to light a menorah at a Williamsburg,
Virginia, community celebration turned into a Festivus-style “airing of
grievances” — with a side of antisemitism for good measure.



Rabbi Mendy Heber had approached a Williamsburg community group seeking to
have a menorah lighting as part of a monthly community arts festival on Dec.
10, the fourth night of Hanukkah.Publicly, organizers said that they did not
include religious events in their monthly gatherings, regardless of the
denomination involved.



But the story doesn’t end there. The festival’s founder, Shirley Vermillion,
sent Rabbi Heber a private text message stating that she would nix the menorah
lighting “unless we could get an Islamic group to participate at the same time.
We are about Peace, Love, and light. … Don’t want to make it seem we’re
choosing a side — supporting the killing/bombing of thousands of men, women,
and children.”



…



Ms. Vermillion also coupled her political bias with the type of casual
prejudice popular among “woke” social justice warriors. By conflating the
Jewish religion with support for Israeli military action — as she so callously
put it, “killing/bombing of thousands of men, women, and children” — she
perpetuated the stereotype that all Jews agree with the policies of the Israeli
government of the day.



Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin rightly called out Ms. Vermillion and her
group’s actions as “absurd and antisemitic.” Even some Democrats objected, with
Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, Virginia’s first Jewish speaker of the House,
calling the incident “shocking and outrageous.”



…



Sadly, this incident represents the latest instance of the “woke” left
conditioning the acceptance of speech on the willingness of individuals to
adhere to its dogma. Witnessed too the university leaders who would not condemn
before Congress calls for genocide against Jews yet readily punish students who
“use the wrong pronouns” when talking in class.



…



Therein lies the true tragedy of this event, which illustrates perfectly why
we need commemorations like the menorah lighting. With our nation and our world
facing hatred and strife, we need to come together in peace to celebrate our
shared humanity and celebrate this special time of year.




Paid for by Spirit of Virginia



Spirit of Virginia, PO Box 3950, Merrifield, VA 22116



This message was sent to [email protected]. Don't want to receive our
emails anymore?

Unsubscribe
<[link removed]>