Via JTA
Torremolinos
– A street name sign honoring a Spanish Jew was damaged in the southern Spanish
city of Torremolinos amid a debate over the municipality’s decision to
celebrate Hanukkah.
The
sign named for David Haim Melul, the founder of the local Jewish community, was
knocked down last week, two months after it was put up.
The
vandalism occurred as local politicians were debating the placing this month of
a neon sign reading “Happy Hanukkah,” which critics said was in violation of
the separation between religion and government.
The
criticism comes from delegates of the center-right Popular Party to the
municipal government of Torremolinos, where one of the ruling parties is the
left-leaning Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, the newspaper reported. The
local politicians are unhappy over the absence of a municipal nativity scene to
celebrate Christmas. Torremolinos has about 800 Jews.
