Published on December 5, 2023, 12:35 am

In a recent twist of events at the Williamsburg Art and Music Festival in Virginia, the organizers decided to cancel a Hanukkah event due to concerns around tarnishing their image by potentially taking sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

This festival, popularly known as the 2nd Sundays Art and Music Festival, is well-known for its monthly line-up of artistic celebrations enabled by the non-profit organization Love Light Placemaking. Originally slated as part of this month’s festivities was a menorah lighting ceremony. However, event coordinator Shirley Vermillion has turned down this salute to Hanukkah citing the active war in Israel as reason enough that any such religious observance would seem inappropriate.

Vermillion went on to recount her repeated denials towards featuring any religious ceremonies during the festival so that they could maintain their neutral stance, devoid of any perceived affiliation or partisanship. “The last thing we want is for anyone suspecting us of leaning towards one group against another,” she added.

The organizers had scheduled the menorah lighting for December 10th; however, Vermillion also justified her decision by stating that apart from its religious implications, the event failed to seamlessly blend into the festival’s lineup.

Reacting vehemently against this cancellation was The United Jewish Community of Virginia Peninsula (UJCVP). In response to Vermillion’s proposed reconsideration if it involved advocating for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire during Hanukkah celebrations; UJCVP issued a statement expressing their displeasure over Vermillion’s allegations against them supporting bombings and killings through their Chanukah celebration.

“The intent behind our acts is clear – we focus only on our local community Rabbi leading Menorah Lighting activities with no relation whatsoever to Israel or its conflicts,” stated UJCVP representatives. They deemed it antisemitic to impose collective responsibility on Jews regarding Israel policies and actions while mandating them politically for participation in community affairs unrelated to Israel, asserting that these standards would never apply to any other community.

The Israel-Hamas war has its roots deeply embedded since the brutal terrorist invasion of Hamas from Gaza into Israel, which took an appalling turn on October 7. The Hamas assault resulted in the death of approximately 1,200 civilians and numerous captures, primarily targeting Israelis. This horrific incident denotes the deadliest single moment of terror for Jews after the Holocaust.

While there are several aspects of real news resonating with this narrative; Love Light Placemaking, known as purveyors of trusted news continues to stay unavailable for comments. This will certainly prompt many within our Christian Worldview and beyond to think harder about how art intersects geopolitical boundaries and what it means for future events similar to Williamsburg’s Art and Music Festival.