East London town hall will not light the menorah candles for Hanukkah this year

A London town hall is refusing to light the Hanukkah menorah for the upcoming 8-day Jewish holiday for fear of sparking conflict, according to the British Daily Telegraph.

The Havering Council in East London said it believes it would be “unwise” for the 9-branch candelabrum to be lit on the property, claiming that it could put residents at “risk” and lead to “vandalism” and “inflaming tensions” within the community.

While no specific details were provided by the Havering Council, it said they plan to hold a “temporary installation and event” for the start of the festival of lights which begins on next Thursday evening, Dec. 7, but will immediately take it down.

The council issued a statement: “We have taken the difficult decision to pause the planned installation of the Hanukkah menorah outside Havering Town Hall this year.”

“We appreciate this is a hugely sensitive issue but in light of escalating tensions from the conflict in the Middle East, installing the candelabra now will not be without risk to the council, our partners, staff and local residents,” the statement continued.

“We would also be concerned with any possible vandalism or other action against the installation.”

The Havering Council statement added: “However, due to an increase in the number of hate crimes in Havering, both towards the Jewish and Muslim community, and after consulting with the leader of the council, we believe it would be unwise to move forward with the installation, which could risk further inflaming tensions within our communities.”

Jewish campaigners against antisemitism called the decision “shocking” and demanded that council chiefs “reverse this cowardly decision at once.”

“This is shocking. 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. If people are offended by the sight of Judaism, then the council should be looking to educate, if not ostracize, those people; not appease them.”

“Last Sunday, British Jews marched in pride, shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies, in central London. We can never appease those who hate us by hiding who we are. Havering council must reverse this cowardly decision at once,” the campaigners asserted.

Andrew Rosindell, conservative Member of Parliament for Romford, had recently communicated to Havering Council head Ray Morgon, warning him that not lighting the candles “would be a grave insult to Jewish communities in Romford.”

The council chiefs shot back at critics, accusing the campaigners of “politicizing” the issue and making “accusations of anti-Semitism.”

“This is categorically untrue and such statements are likely to incite further unrest in our communities,” they said in response and went on to claim that it “does not take sides in the current conflict,” while pointing out that it flew the Israeli flag following the Hamas massacre last month.

Regarding the lighting of the menorah, the governing East London council said it would “revisit next year when we hope community tensions will have subsided.”

According to the 2021 census, a little more than 1,300 people Jewish residents live in Havering, representing 0.5% of the population. The Muslim community makes up about 6.2%, representing a 2% increase in the last 10 years.

The Hanukkah menorah has previously been lit outside of Havering Town Hall in Romford, where the Muslim population is 12 times the size of the Jewish community.

Tens of thousands of people marched in London on Sunday in a “Zero tolerance for antisemitism” rally.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who attended the march, told GB News: “It's very sad that this march has to take place at all. What we're all doing here is showing solidarity with Jewish people, and that is necessary.”