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       I was taken aback reading the Dec. 5 Metro article “Arts festival in Virginia accused of antisemitism.” Rabbi Mendy Heber of Chabad Williamsburg sought to have a menorah lighting at a Virginia arts festival. The request was rejected.

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       I am an observant Orthodox Jew who served 20 years as a Maryland state delegate representing the Baltimore County community.

       An innocent candle lighting got snarled in the overseas Israel-Gaza war, and that is sad. The seasonal candle lighting of menorahs coincides with the lighting of Christmas trees. The National Christmas Tree and the menorah are publicly lit in D.C. and honored by our president. Neither the tree nor the menorah is a strictly religious object, as would be a Nativity scene or Shabbat candles.

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       The real irony is that the organization seeking to have the menorah lighting is Chabad, whose overriding mission is aimed at serving and encouraging fellow Jews to embrace their Jewishness. It is a noncontroversial group. As the controversy simmers in Virginia, Chabad is lighting the large New York City menorah.

       I am pained by the events in the Middle East, but I hope the usual Christmas tree and menorah lightings can proceed without further controversy to offer comfort and relief from the stresses that created the controversy.

       Theodore Levin, Baltimore

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