When Chabad erected their first giant public Menorah to celebrate the Chanukah of 1975, a legal war was launched by powerful segments of the Jewish community to have public menorahs banned. Both the menorahs and the battles persist annually.
This video was produced for Lesson 6 of Great Debates in Jewish History, a course by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute.
there’s no attempt to deny public holiday trees & other profuse holiday symbols. Some people, be they Jews or otherwise, are really just atheists. A public menorah or for that matter or any other l’havdil, religious symbol does not force participation or involvement, but the lack of it does deny it’s proper meaning-full observance. Recognition of the Abishter shouldn’t have to be a hidden ritual as in a dictatorship Communist or Fascist land!