THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512150225
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Retailers don't observe Jewish holiday
We are a Jewish family living in Virginia Beach, and we are having the most extraordinarily difficult time trying to find a retail store of some sort that sells Chanukah candles.
These candles come in boxes of 44 candles each and are used each year in the celebration of the eight days of Chanukah, which usually falls around the same period of time as the Christmas holidays. And yet year after year we see the same phenomenon. Retail stores inundated with Christmas decorations and signs saying ``Merry Christmas'' and no mention of Chanukah.
Let me put this into some sort of perspective. In effect, we celebrate eight mini-Christmases in a row. This means that a husband and wife with two children are buying up to 32 gifts, which are exchanged each night for eight nights as we light our candles and say special prayers. In addition to this comes Christmas and now we must buy more presents for our Christian friends.
You would think that with this quantity of purchasing going on that at least one or two retail stores would have the courtesy to acknowledge this event. It is amazing to me why other people of the Jewish faith have not voiced disappointment.
Maybe we should organize and boycott stores that don't display some sort of Chanukah signs or decorations. Other ethnic groups do this sort of thing when they are ignored. I guess we have once more become the stereotyped passive people. I do notice, however, that the African-American cultural festival Kwanzaa, which is neither religious nor particularly significant, gets its share of publicity. Chanukah on the other hand is biblical in origin and celebrated by Jews throughout the world.
Kathryn D. Ingram
Virginia Beach
Setting record straight
on motorcycle policeman
I want to thank Ms. Bennington for writing her letter (Dec. 1 Beacon, ``A rude policeman''). If she hadn't, then I wouldn't be able to set her straight and she would have gone on believing bad things about Virginia Beach motorcycle officers.
She probably would have gotten more satisfaction if she had gone through the proper police channels. I am aware that she sent a copy of her letter to the supervisor of the motorcycle unit at the same time she sent it into the newspaper. If she hadn't been so compelled to blame a Virginia Beach motorcycle officer she would have found out her accusations were wrong.
First of all, I was in the escort that she spoke of and I was one block away from the intersection mentioned. If she had checked, she would have found out that there were approximately 30 white police motorcycles in the escort. All the motorcycles were marked with police stickers and had flashing red and blue lights. To the untrained eye, all of them look alike. There were also seven different police departments riding these motorcycles and three of these police departments have very similar uniforms.
If you haven't guessed yet Ms. Bennington, it wasn't a Virginia Beach motorcycle officer at that intersection as you have accused in your article.
I know the officer (not a Virginia Beach officer) who was at that intersection and he admits to talking to a young man while there. His version is quite different from that of your son's, but we won't get into that.
I have children and would tend to believe them if told such a story (until I checked into it). I don't know your child but I do know the officer. I tend to believe the officer's story of the incident as you do your child.
Secondly, in your article you refer to us as servants. I don't know of any city employee that considers themselves a ``servant.'' All city employees are hired to do a job and do their jobs as they would if working for a private corporation.
As for your support of the police department and their need for better salaries, I have a feeling we never had your support to begin with.
B.J. Ruby
Virginia Beach by CNB