Fort Collins, CO - Christmas Tree Vs. Menorah Debate Heats Up

Fort Collins, CO - A holiday decorations dispute involving the Christmas tree and the menorah is heating up.

Several religious leaders sent an email to the city council urging them to reconsider a decision made in the summer that said the menorah could not be displayed at the city's public holiday display.
The ruling said the Christmas tree is OK for the city's public holiday display, but the menorah is not.

"I think everyone here is Christian essentially, so a Christmas tree, Santa's workshop and everything associated with it is considered generic, everybody does it," said Rabbi Yerachmiel Gorelick. "But that's really not the case."
Gorelick is trying to include a Menorah in the city's formal holiday display, but the city council said no.
"Our holiday display policy had been a simple secular Christmas tree," said Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson. "According to our attorney, the tree is secular, the menorah is not," said a spokesman of the Downtown Development Authority.