Hawaii makes room for menorahs

HONOLULU – Despite a dustup in Seattle over whether Christmas trees and menorahs have a place in that city’s airport, both were put up this season at airports throughout the islands without controversy.

“In light of everything that’s going on, we thought it was a good idea to approach the state … and see if we can put the menorahs up there. And we got a very, very favorable response,” said Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky, director of Chabad of Hawaii.

The national Chabad organization has put up menorahs in public places throughout the country, including one in Waikiki, which Gov. Linda Lingle was to help light Saturday night to celebrate Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights.

Earlier this week, maintenance staff restored 14 plastic trees to their places at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after the trees had been removed after a rabbi complained about the lack of a menorah in the airport’s holiday display.

This year marks a first for menorahs in the common areas of Hawaii’s airports, said Krasnjansky and Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for state Department of Transportation which has authority over the state’s airports.

“It’s a general holiday display. We’re not going to have one or the other stand out,” Ishikawa said.