Claiming Christmas has been stripped of Christ, a public-interest law firm sued the Town of Palm Beach for religious discrimination Monday after town officials did not approve a nativity scene for the same public spaces where menorahs and Christmas trees are displayed.
The lawsuit claims Christmas trees are secular symbols and do not carry religious associations for Christians as menorahs do for Jews.
The complaint was filed by the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based firm Thomas More Law Center and states that the town's practice of having Christmas trees and menorahs in its display but excluding the nativity scene "demonstrates hostility towards those who are Christians," including the two residents on whose behalf the suit was filed, Maureen N. Donnell and Fern Tailer deNarvaez. It asks for damages covering attorneys' fees and other costs and that a judge order the town to allow the nativity displays.
Both residents, according to lawyers for the center, wrote letters to town officials offering to donate nativity scenes for the public holiday displays and were told their requests would be discussed at a Town Council meeting in November.
That never happened, though a letter was sent to Donnell's attorney stating that Donnell has the "absolute right" to put up her display on her own in Bradley Park, a public space the center's attorney say does not have the prominence of the two public displays where the menorahs stand.
"It's like saying, `You can have your nativity scene, but you've got to put it in the back where nobody can see it,'" said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center.
Representing the town, John C. Randolph said Donnell's request for a nativity scene never came before the Town Council for discussion. He said the town never rejected Donnell's request.
"We do not have a bias. Any individual who wishes to put up a display ... has the right to do that," he said. "The town has not denied this plaintiff the right to display a religious symbol."
The town typically decorates at least two spaces -- the median on Royal Poinciana Way and a small shopping center on South County Road and Worth Avenue -- with privately donated Christmas trees and menorahs that are lit during public holiday ceremonies.
Menorahs became a part of the holiday displays in 2002, according to the complaint, which states that residents' requests to have a nativity scene at these sites "were not considered by the Defendants and were therefore not granted."
"There's a national trend towards taking all religious significance out of Christmas," said Thompson. The center filed a similar suit in New York City in 2002, and a decision on that case is still pending.
"The Christmas tree is not a religious symbol at all. It's secular ... but the menorah is a symbol of the Jewish faith and of the lighting ceremony of Hanukkah," said Thompson. Not including nativity scenes, he added, is to favor one religion over another.